Argentina’s extended COVID-19 travel restrictions to end

Argentina’s extended COVID-19 travel restrictions are scheduled to end today.

While all travel is permitted, Argentina enacted a new set of travel restrictions to face its second wave of COVID-19 in June. This included entry restrictions on all international flights from 2,000 to 600 passengers per day.

While the travel ban impacted tourism and the economy’s rebound trend, the country’s GDP registered an increase of 2.5% in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020. However, GDP growth in the key sector of agriculture fell by -2.1%.

The Argentine government has announced they will not promote or incentivize tourism amid fear of the spread of the Delta variant. Instead, expect Argentina to prioritize reinvigorating the country’s agriculture to boost its economy through tax revenue on agricultural exports, since the agricultural sector represented 8.7% of the GDP and an average of 60% of exports between 2010 and 2019. President Alberto Fernandez’s government will likely focus on the digitization of the agricultural sector, or digital agriculture—which has been growing steadily in recent years—to increase production without affecting the environment. The plans may include enhancing network connectivity, access to financing and robust public policies that incorporate skills development.