The coronavirus pandemic has affected the tourism industry like no other phenomenon. Even well-traveled people like Jennine Cohen, a luxury and adventure travel expert, speaker and coach, has witnessed changes — and that includes in one of her favorite destinations, Argentina, where she’s been staying for extended periods for the past 10 years. So when she offered to share some of her insight about this popular South American vacation destination, I jumped at the chance.
Originally from San Francisco, Jennine “floats between worlds” (I love how she phrases that), with three home bases: California, Mexico, and Argentina. In this exclusive Q&A, she shares the latest about how Argentina is dealing with the pandemic, as well as a bunch of great travel tips and her favorite hotels in Argentina. (Be sure to follow Jennine on Instagram, too.)
Where are your favorite places to stay in Argentina?
Buenos Aires has so many fantastic hotels and I’ve stayed in many through the years like Mansion Algodon, the Park Hyatt, Home Hotel, Legado Mitico, the Four Seasons, and Casa Bellini Sur, just to name a few. But these days, I stay with friends in Recoleta or Palermo Chico and go hang out with the Awasi hotel Argentina team and work from their offices.
When I’m in the Northwest of the country, I always stay in one of my favorite hotels in all of Latin America: House of Jasmines, which is a traditional hacienda which embodies the local gaucho culture.
When I’m in Patagonia, I’ll generally stay at the Awasi hotel or in Northern Patagonia at one of many fantastic Villas overlooking Nahuel Huapi. As this last trip was considerably longer, I stayed at a small cabin overlooking the lake, where I could watch the sailboats and see when the winds were picking up to get out on the water. That was also a peaceful place to do yoga in the cabin’s rose garden and watch the Patagonia storms come in and the condors fly over the jagged mountain ridges.
As fate would have it, the owner of that cabin also has a daughter with my same name who looks just like me, has my same disposition. She ended up being like a 2nd mother to me!
This last year, I decided to stay even longer than my usual few-week stint, and lived in a cabin in the woods in Patagonia for four months. I hiked to the top of every mountain in sight to take in sweeping views of jagged ridge tops and sailed under a sky blanketed in Austral stars every evening. I met Argentines who I felt like I had known for a lifetime. The locals were gracious and kind in sharing their very special and wild corner of the world with me.
How would you describe the current pandemic situation in Argentina?
It has been an especially challenging time in Argentina. Overall as a country, Argentina has done very well with control of COVID (the numbers are not as great in Buenos Aires). The government knew the health system and hospitals wouldn’t be able to support a wave of COVID, so they prioritized local health and safety over tourism.
Like many other places, it is a tale of two different stories — one in Buenos Aires, where things have stayed closed, and then another in the provinces, where many businesses have started to open and the virus is much more under control because of the available wide open spaces.
Buenos Aires has had the longest of any lockdown in the world, which has been hard on locals and their mental health – especially as winter has set in. Non-essential businesses have been locked down since March 17 (things are going to start opening up again next week).
It’s become a dire situation economically, especially in Buenos Aires. With four months of closed shops, many have closed or will be forced to close permanently.
That said, Argentines are used to crisis and for them, this is just another. They are used to living day to day and getting creative even in the worst of circumstances and I consider Argentines to be natural leaders in the “pivot” as they have been forced to do it for years. I run Mastermind Groups for high performing travel industry professionals, and I’ve even had a guest Argentine day when my Argentine friends speak to our North American friends about their advice on how to flow with uncertainty.
What’s your advice for anyone looking to visit Argentina?
While the country is expected to open officially in September, the word is that it won’t be until November or early December things get going again. Mid-December this year is a Solar Eclipse in northern Patagonia – a not-to-be-missed event, and the expectation is that travelers will return to witness this rare event. Obviously, this cannot be rescheduled.
While everyone is stuck in their apartments in cities, the allure of being in a place like Patagonia with its wild open wild spaces is more compelling than ever!
Where do you think the best places to visit in Argentina will be once things return to normal?
I think definitely Argentina’s more remote wild areas in the Andes like Patagonia and exploring the Red Rock Canyons, Gaucho culture, and wine country of Northwest Argentina.
When was the last time you were there and when you will go back again?
I left Argentina for a quick trip back to the U.S. and then back down to Mexico in January. I plan to go back again next in February and stay for the month in Patagonia again.
You’re also a Mexico travel expert – how do you compare the pandemic situation in these two very different countries?
They took opposite approaches. Argentina took a more extreme approach, shutting everything down right away and putting the health of its citizens first and tourism second. Mexico, however, never really closed its borders and in fact remained one of the only counties open to international visitors during the entire pandemic. Mexico’s economy is completely dependent on tourism, so there’s always been a strong focus from the government and private sectors to reactivate the tourism economy. Because of that, Mexico has been leading as a destination in terms of getting standardized health and safety protocols in place in hotels for example. That said, the control has been turned over to the state, similar to what we see happening in the U.S., with regional measures put in the place, which has caused inconsistency in outcomes.
The other main difference between Argentina and Mexico is that Mexico has both a strong international and domestic market. Right now, summer is peak season for the Mexican market. Similar to what we’re seeing in the U.S., domestic tourism at the luxury levels in Mexico are up while wealthy families flock to the country’s mountains and beaches to escape the cities.
How is your travel life these days? What do you miss most about regular travel?
Well, I can’t say that I’ve been traveling at all — in fact, I’ve spent more time in one place than I’ve ever spent in my entire life! That said, the place happens to be right in front of the beach. While I’ve been here, I’ve taken the time to live in a new way — to learn kitesurfing and vegan Mexican cooking (I’ve lost 15 pounds!), live more in tune with nature and its cycles, and stretch and grow in other ways. I’ve made some unexpected close friendships with locals who have generously taken me under their wing as family and prioritized my health over my career for the first time.
As a professionally trained coach, I’m working with high performing travel industry professionals and CEOs to help them cultivate balance and momentum in their own personal and professional lives and I’ve been ramping up my work in strategic planning and consulting.
I’ve been so grateful to have the pause and it’s a time in my life that I’ll never forget and skills and relationships that will be with me forever.
Of course, I look forward to a day when regular travel returns, but in the meantime I’ve been learning to just stay. Sometimes the greatest adventures in life are the ones we do not plan! Staying in the place of excitement about the situation instead of going to a place of fear requires courage and letting go of the ego and the past. It is not always easy (in fact, there have been some really mentally challenging moments). All of that said, I still see incredible opportunity in the middle of a global pandemic. I have been called overly optimistic, but maybe that’s exactly what we need as an industry right now.
When is your next trip and to where?
My next trip starts tomorrow – I’ll be heading back to the U.S. to visit with family and friends and take a few road trips in the American West. I’ve fallen in love with Mexico so much, that the plan is to drive down my surf van with my kite gear to Mexico again and reposition for the winter.
Learn more about Jennine’s travel and coaching expertise on her Website and also on Instagram.