The effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on the global tourism industry have been devastating. But many countries remain hopeful that it is one of the industries will play a role in economic recovery, and some South American nations like Argentina are targeting the Chinese market. 

Joel Richards has this report.

In what was once one of Buenos Aires’ most popular tourist neighborhoods, agencies like this have now been shut a full year.

The tourism sector hopes more of those visitors are from China. The government recently announced an agreement with the Trip.com group to promote Argentina in China.

Argentina’s Tourism Minister says the industry provides 10 percent of the country’s GDP, and believes there is room for growth from the Chinese market.

But there remains the key question of when international tourists will be able to visit.

Argentina's health authorities have identified a number of other variants of the coronavirus in circulation. Although the number of daily confirmed cases remains relatively stable, the government has increased restrictions on new arrivals.

Argentina’s tourism industry hopes the country can overcome the expected surge in cases in the coming weeks, to kick start the sector later this year. 

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