VENEZUELA-ECONOMY/TOURISTS Venezuela's economy provides brave tourists with cheap holiday

Record ID: 148962

  • Title: VENEZUELA-ECONOMY/TOURISTS Venezuela's economy provides brave tourists with cheap holiday
  • Date: 30th June 2015
  • Summary: LOS ROQUES, VENEZUELA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BEACHES VARIOUS OF TOURISTS SWIMMING IN THE SEA TOURISTS BY THE SHORE A BIRD ON THE SAND A TOURIST FEEDING THE BIRDS VARIOUS OF GERMAN TOURISTS AT THE BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN TOURIST, EDWARD HARTWICH, SAYING: "One of the funniest challenges is to get access to cash in Venezuela, to get bolivares because trading
  • Embargoed: 15th July 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAZLBK5NMSJ2GCO6M5EO2BUVNJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Fears of being kidnapped or not finding toilet paper are not much of an incentive for a holiday in Venezuela.
    Yet hardy travellers undeterred by the tales - real and exaggerated - of crime and shortages are finding the South American nation an absurdly cheap destination.
    That is thanks to exchange controls skewing the economy in favour of anyone with foreign currency, meaning you can hire a boat to a Caribbean island for $15 a day, or trek through Andean mountains or Amazon jungle for a week, with porters, at $125.
    A decent hostel at a popular beach may cost $5 a night, while two people can have a three-course meal with wine for $10.
    Even at a bumped-up 90 bolivars due to the exclusive island location, a beer here costs just $0.22 at the black market rate most foreigners change on.
    Many are wise to the situation so they look for not so surreptitious money-changers as soon as they land in Venezuela, or make arrangements ahead, as German tourist Edward Hartwich explains.
    "One of the funniest challenges is to get access to cash in Venezuela, to get bolivares because trading euros at the official rate would make it quite expensive. But like I lead you to some friends, we can trade the money or exchange the money to quite a good rate and so far for ten days I spent less than 100 euros and did quite a lot of stuff so, that's quite cool we get along with quite few money," said Hartwich.
    Venezuela's largest denomination note is 100 bolivars - about 25 U.S. cents. Amazed at the sheer quantity of notes they receive, visitors find where to keep them the biggest problem.
    The giveaway prices in Venezuela for foreigners are a recent phenomenon: the black market price of a U.S. dollar has shot up nearly six-fold from 70 bolivars to over 400 in the last year.
    The government is unable to meet demand at official exchange rates, which range from 6.3 to 200 bolivars per dollar, so the black market satisfies those prepared to pay a hefty premium.
    In contrast with tourists, however, Venezuelans' purchasing power has fallen as wage rises cannot match inflation of 68 percent in 2014 and widely forecast to hit triple digits this year.
    "If you want to come here the most expensive thing is the flight, the airline, because after that everything here is very cheap. I'll say it again that for Europeans or Americans it is much easier, for us it is more difficult, though not as bad as for those who live here," said Argentine tourist, Julian.
    Shopping for basic food and goods has become a daily struggle for many locals - let alone the sort of exotic holidays foreigners are enjoying in their country.
    Despite the currency bonanza, tourists are hardly flocking to Venezuela. There were just under 1 million arrivals last year, four times fewer than neighbouring Colombia which is successfully marketing itself despite decades of drug wars and a Marxist insurgency.
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