UNWTO launches first prototype to overcome seasonality

“Punta del Este 365″ is an initiative that brings together the public and the private sector of Punta del Este in Uruguay to develop and implement new tourism products aimed at overcoming seasonality.

The project, developed by UNWTO together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Uruguay, the Regional Government of Maldonado and Destino Punta del Este, was presented during World Travel Market (London, United Kingdom, 5 November 2014).

Seasonality is a major challenge for many tourism destinations worldwide due to the major impacts it has on their economic, environmental and socio-cultural structures. In order to support destinations to overcome seasonality, UNWTO has developed its first prototype on seasonality, a model that can be replicated worldwide.

Punta del Este 365 brings together representatives from the public and private sector along the whole tourism value chain showing how innovative public-private partnerships can successfully develop a year-round tourism destination. The project focuses on sports tourism, meetings and the link between gastronomy, agriculture and tourism.

“Punta del Este 365 embodies UNWTO’s fundamental belief that interdisciplinary collaboration is key to sustainable tourism development”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. “I am confident that Punta del Este 365 will be a practical tool to help destinations around the world find effective solutions to tackle seasonality, and I would like to thank the Government of Uruguay, our partners in Uruguay and the UNWTO Affiliate Members involved for their engagement in such a leading and innovative project”, he added.

The Minister of Tourism and Sport of Uruguay, Liliám Kechichián, welcomed the project, stressing its important contribution to consolidate tourism as the country’s main economic sectors: “Tourism revenues have quadrupled over the past years and now exceed US$2 billion. Tourism is a key economic activity for the development of Uruguay”.

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