URUGUAY: Promoting Western River Regions In Tourism

The Tourism Ministry has signed an agreement with five of Uruguay's provinces to promote areas lying along the Uruguay River as a tourism corridor, officials said.

Tourism Minister Liliam Kechichian signed the agreement with the governors of Artigas, Paysandu, Salto, Rio Negro and Soriano provinces with the goal of strengthening tourist destinations in the river region.

The officials pledged to support development of sustainable tourism attractions and coordinate common goals, the Office of the President said in a statement.

The Tourism Ministry and the provincial governments also agreed to promote cooperation by linking tourism attractions with commercial outlets, the government said.

"Today, we are talking about tourism all across the country and not just on the Atlantic coast.

This activity is also growing in small towns, generating local development, jobs and culture," Kechichian said after the agreement was signed in Soriano, a city in southwestern Uruguay.

These investments will be made under the Tourism Industry Support program, which has already contributed more than $1.5 million to the construction of tourism infrastructure in the provinces lying on the Uruguay River, with support from the Inter-American Development Bank, Kechichian said.