Open Jaw :: On The Town ::

with Martha Chapman
08SEP08

Luciana Bieler of the Argentina National Institute of Tourism Promotion with Ines Segarra of the Argentina Tourism Office in New York and Patricia Gandini of Argentina’s national parks administration

Sergio Dobrusin of the province of Misiones

You can’t have an Argentine-themed evening without some tango!

Falling for Argentina

Quick, when I say “Argentina”, what do you think of?

The tango? Evita? And - as doubtless Ivanna would agree - fab wines?

Ah, that’s just the beginning, as a group of travel industry hotshots learned last night at the swish Fairmont Royal York in downtown YYZ.

“The tango is closely associated with our capital Buenos Aires,” says Sergio Dobrusin, undersecretary of strategic management for the province of Misiones. “Think of Buenos Aires as our lobby…yes, it’s wonderful - but you must come further into the country!”

The purpose of the visit by the chic cadre of Argentines was to promote Argentine Week in Niagara Falls. What’s the connection? Each country has spectacular waterfalls, and we’ve signed an agreement of brotherhood to share interests and learn from each other how we can promote and protect these wonderful gifts of nature.

If the urban charms of Buenos Aires are all you (or your clients) think of, you’ll be amazed to hear that there are 34 national parks. Your Tilley set clients will marvel at the 450 species of birds in Iguazú National Park in the province of Misiones, about 1300 kms from B.A. and served by several airports. But the Falls themselves are the main event: It’s been said that compared to Iguazú Falls, Niagara is the tap in your kitchen sink! There are as many as 275 sets of falls, the highest, Devil’s Throat cascading down 80 meters (think 26 storey building).

So yes, the tango is hot in Argentina. But for your green-minded clients, there may be nothing hotter (and cooler) than Iguazú National Park.