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Paraguay – Paraguay hopes casinos will increase upper class tourists

By - 11 October 2013

The Ministry of Tourism (Senatur) hopes to position Paraguay as an exclusive destination for upper class visitors from Argentina and Brazil.

Landlocked Paraguay needs to focus on adventure tourism as well as nature and cultural packages said spokesman, Javier Ramírez speaking to press at the International Tourism Fair of Paraguay.

The Ministry of Tourism plans to take advantage of Paraguay’s location as it borders Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. It is believed that the Ministry is looking at casinos attached to hotels as a way forward as they would increase tourism in the area and improve local infrastructure.

Mr Ramírez told local press that Paraguay was in a good position as it could attract tourists from nearby countries. “The geographical location and low costs attracts Argentina and Brazilians. The upper classes come for golf and for casinos . . .” he said. In addition Paraguay is currently seeking ways to attract more tourists from Europe and the US. The Ministry is now negotiating with two airlines, which would fly direct to from Madrid to capital Asunción, and there are now four weekly flights direct from Miami.

With much of the Latin American market already developed, Paraguay could well prove to be an area of significant growth in the near future. Casinos have been permitted in Paraguay since 1997. The 1997 gaming act created a gaming commission called El Comisión Nacional de Juegos de Azar (CONAJZAR).

Although casinos have been permitted now for almost fifteen years the casino industry remains almost non-existent with little foreign investment in the industry and illegal gaming has remained widespread. However a new act was passed in 2011, which gives police widespread powers to stamp out illegal gaming.

Part of the reason for slow growth has been a failed bidding process launched by CONAJZAR. The process, which was aimed at attracting significant investment and was designed to launch a number of casinos located in five star hotels, has had to be abandoned a number of times due to irregularities in the bidding process.  Last year head of the gaming board Gerardo Gómez, announced that the bidding process would be open once more with the goal of permitting ten large-scale casinos throughout the country. The aim of the new bidding process is to attract large-scale foreign investment, which will include other amenities such as five star hotels in order to build tourist infrastructure in the region.

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