Travel to South America- Most Visited Countries

Have you ever wondered which South American countries receive the most visitors and why?

I saw a chart that showed the statistics for 2015 and I was pretty surprised.

Understandably, Brazil, with icons such as Rio, the Amazon and Iguassu Falls topped the chart. But surprisingly, Peru, with mighty Machu Picchu, came in 4th, barely beating out Colombia and Uruguay.

To my even bigger surprise, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands lagged behind those countries and had just slightly higher numbers than Paraguay. But Ecuador has so much more to offer (in my opinion)! Where else can you find so much variety in such a small area and with such friendly people?

What could be behind these strange (to me) numbers?

• I think that one factor is cruises. There are now many large ships cruising between Chile, Uruguay and Argentina and others that are stopping in Cartagena,  Colombia.
• Many people flock to the coast of Uruguay (Punta del Este, etc.)during high season
• many people cross the border from Iguassu Falls into Cuided del Este Paraguay just to shop for  few hours (I asked our operator at the falls and they thought that was the main reason)

I can understand Chile being up there. It is safe and has been getting a lot of publicity as an adventure travel destination as well as for it's variety of areas - desert, beach, mountains/volcanoes and lakes. And this year we have been selling lots of self-drive packages to there.

And Argentina, with Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Mendoza, Patagonia and being the gateway for most cruises to Antarctica. I can understand that.

But more people go to Paraguay than to Bolivia? Lake Titicaca and Uyuni are very popular destinations for us and it is a great destination for people who want authentic culture. We've tried offering some interesting sites in Paraguay, but all of the tour operators seem to be only interested in promoting Asuncion, Ciudad del Este and the missions.

What do you think?