The government approved last week the tender of a casino hotel in the city of Rivera. The resolution was approved by President Tabaré Vázquez and ministers of Economy, Danilo Astori, and Tourism, Héctor Lescano.

The aim of this measure is to promote the touristic development in this district, in the Northern part of the country, which shares a border with Brazil. Minister of Tourism will set the opening date for the offers. The price of the document with the tender conditions is us$ 1,000.

Rivera competes with Livramento in the attraction of the regional tourism. One of the main benefits is that Rivera would build and habilitate the operation of a casino, which has lead the council of this department, Tabaré Viera, to hold different meetings with potential investors.

The presence of a first-class hotel casino and complex should, according to local authorities, become an attraction for travelers from hundreds of cities located around 1,000 km.

With this strategic location, Rivera –located 500 kilometers far from the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre-, adds to the commercial offer, especially due to free shops, which sell imported products without taxes. In Brazil, the hotel industry has been considerably developed in the last 20 years. However, this growth did not suppose the full attraction of the market at the South of the Atlantic Ocean.

Nowadays, the Casino General Direction does not have a leader who supports the tender, because the head of this Direction, which depends on the Ministry of Economy, resigned some days before being investigated.