3 million tourists traveled and spending exceeded one billion pesos

The entity reported that the direct economic impact reached $1,007,793 million, that is, more than a billion pesos spent in food, drinks, accommodation, transportation, recreation and various purchases.

“They were four days of a lot of movement in all corners of the country,” said CAME, which highlighted that even cities less receptive to traditional tourism were energized by their own carnival proposals.

Total direct spending grew 6% at constant prices compared to last year. Instead, The average daily expenditure per tourist was $111,605 and showed a real decrease of 7.7%. The average stay was three days, up from 2.8 days in 2025. According to the report, “people chose destinations very tied to promotions”, both in hotels and air transport.

The numbers for Carnival 2026 constitute a historical record in the number of tourists. The previous best mark had been reached in 2023, with 2,925,000 travelers. The CAME framed the performance in a context of “many income restrictions in families,” and underlined the relevance that these dates maintain in the tourist calendar. This was the fifteenth consecutive year that Carnival was officially celebrated after more than three decades outside the national holiday calendar.

Among the most chosen destinations, cities with carnival traditions stood out in Between Ríos, Corrientes, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuywith different celebration modalities between the coast and northern Argentina. They also registered strong movement Atlantic Coast and the interior of Buenos Aires, as well as Mendoza and destinations in the south of the country.

Air transport showed high activity. Between Aerolíneas Argentinas and JetSmart they transported 313,000 passengers during the long weekend. Aerolíneas alone mobilized more than 220,000 people in four days, with Friday as the peak day.

At the regional level, Buquebus reported a year-on-year growth of 27% in trips from Uruguay to Argentina, reflecting a recovery of local flow through the Río de la Plata.

On the routes to the Atlantic Coast, peaks of up to 2,000 vehicles per hour were recorded heading to Mar del Plata, especially on routes 2 and 11. To organize traffic, the National Road Safety Agency implemented restrictions on the circulation of trucks weighing more than 3,500 kilos on national routes and strategic accesses.