How much does a Paraguay scouting trip cost?
Tourists visiting Paraguay spend an average of $45.60 per day, according to the official INE 2023 tourism survey of 4,211 international visitors. The daily breakdown: $15.59 on food and drink, $11.87 on shopping, $8.34 on lodging, $4.30 on local transport, and $5.50 on recreation and other expenses.
However, the $45.60 average is pulled down by travelers staying with family (50.6% of tourists), many of whom pay nothing for lodging — an inference supported by the lodging-type data showing hotel guests pay $101.51/night while the overall lodging average is only $8.34/night. For visitors paying for lodging, the actual daily cost is higher: ~$127/day for hotel-stayers and ~$59/day for Airbnb or guesthouse stays. A one-week hotel-based scouting trip runs approximately $970 in-country; the same trip with Airbnb lodging runs about $500. Neither includes international airfare.
These numbers come from overnight visitors — tourists who stay at least one night. The survey also captured same-day visitors (excursionists), who spend $87.16 per day, but their spending is dominated by cross-border shopping at Ciudad del Este and is not representative of a scouting trip. The $45.60 tourist figure is the appropriate benchmark for planning.
Source: INE Paraguay, Inbound Tourism Survey 2023 (ETR 2023). Survey period: May–June 2023 (low season — peak-season visitors December–January should budget 10–20% higher for lodging). Sample: 4,211 non-resident visitors at four border posts.
What This Page Measures
This page presents data from the INE Paraguay Inbound Tourism Survey 2023 (ETR 2023), a face-to-face survey of 4,211 non-resident visitors aged 15 and older conducted at four border crossings — Asunción's Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, and José Falcón — during May–June 2023. The survey was conducted by INE in partnership with SENATUR and the Banco Central del Paraguay.
Source: ETR 2023 — Principales Resultados (INE, 33-page PDF). All spending figures are in USD as published by INE — no exchange rate conversion was applied. For full survey methodology, sample design, and limitations, see Methodology.
Data vintage: ETR 2023 was published August 2023. It is the most recent edition; the prior edition was 2017.
Tourist vs. Same-Day Visitor Spending
The ETR 2023 survey captures two very different types of visitors. Tourists stay at least one night in Paraguay — they pay for lodging, eat at restaurants, visit attractions. Same-day visitors (excursionists) cross the border for a few hours, typically to shop. Their spending profiles are completely different, and using the wrong number will give you the wrong budget.
Tourists spend $45.60/day across six categories; same-day visitors spend $87.16/day, dominated by shopping ($80.04). The blended average ($57.53) is upward-biased by excursionist retail spending.
Bar chart comparing tourist daily spending ($45.60) versus same-day visitor spending ($87.16) across categories: food, shopping, lodging, transport, recreation, and other.Key insight: Same-day visitors appear to spend nearly double what tourists spend ($87.16 vs $45.60), but 92% of their spending is retail shopping at border cities like Ciudad del Este. This is not tourism spending — it is cross-border commerce. For planning a scouting trip, the tourist figure ($45.60/day) is your benchmark.
The blended average ($57.53) is the volume-weighted mean of both groups. INE does not publish this figure — it is computed on this page using the 71.3% / 28.7% tourist-to-excursionist split. It is upward-biased by excursionist shopping spend and should NOT be used for trip planning.
Of the 4,211 visitors surveyed, 3,001 (71.3%) were tourists and 1,210 (28.7%) were excursionists.
Where the Money Goes
For tourists, the largest daily expense is food and drink, followed by shopping and lodging. But the overall lodging average ($8.34/night) is misleading because it includes visitors staying with family or friends at no cost.
Food and drink is the largest daily expense for tourists at $15.59/day; lodging averages $8.34/day overall but $101.51/night for hotel guests.
Horizontal bar chart showing tourist daily spending by category: food and drink $15.59/day (34.2%), shopping $11.87/day (26.0%), lodging $8.34/day (18.3%), transport $4.30/day (9.4%), recreation $3.87/day (8.5%), and other $1.63/day (3.6%).Why Lodging Varies So Much
The $8.34 lodging average blends three very different experiences. Here is what tourists actually pay per night for lodging, broken down by accommodation type:
| Accommodation type | Nightly lodging spend | Average stay |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel | $101.51/night | 4.43 nights |
| Extra-hotel (Airbnb, guesthouses) | $33.93/night | 7.35 nights |
| Other (family/friends, mixed) | $31.97/night | 11.82 nights |
| Overall average | $8.34/night | 9.24 nights |
The overall average ($8.34) is pulled down dramatically by the large share of tourists visiting family and friends (50.6% of tourists cite VFR as their primary purpose). Many of these visitors pay nothing for lodging.
What $45.60/day Looks Like in Actual Prices
How do those daily averages translate to actual prices? These are crowdsourced prices for Asunción from Numbeo (April 2026, 34 contributors), converted from Guaraníes at ~7,300 Gs/USD.
| Item | Price (USD) | How it relates to the ETR average |
|---|---|---|
| Inexpensive restaurant meal | ~$5.50 | $15.59/day food budget ≈ 2-3 meals |
| Mid-range dinner (per person) | ~$15.80 | Three-course dinner for two: ~$31.60 |
| Domestic beer (0.5L, bar) | ~$1.30 | |
| Cappuccino | ~$2.40 | |
| One-way bus ticket | ~$0.47 | $4.30/day transport budget |
| Taxi (base fare + 1 km) | ~$2.40 | |
| Airbnb (1 night, city center) | ~$35-60 | $33.93/night extra-hotel average |
| Budget-mid hotel (1 night) | ~$50-90 | $101.51/night hotel average |
Source: Numbeo, "Cost of Living in Asunción" (crowdsourced — 34 contributors, 413 entries — not a statistical survey). Included to give the ETR averages concrete meaning.
Which traveler are you?
| Traveler profile | Lodging | Food | Transport | Recreation | Other | Daily total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel-stayer | $101.51 | $15.59 | $4.30 | $3.87 | $1.63 | $126.90 |
| Extra-hotel (Airbnb, guesthouse) | $33.93 | $15.59 | $4.30 | $3.87 | $1.63 | $59.32 |
| VFR (staying with family) | Varies | $15.59 | $4.30 | $3.87 | $1.63 | $25.39 + lodging |
Excludes shopping ($11.87/day tourist average) since shopping varies widely by traveler. Includes food, transport, recreation, and other from the ETR tourist averages.
| Trip length | Hotel-stayer | Extra-hotel |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | ~$970 | ~$500 |
| 10 days | ~$1,388 | ~$712 |
Does not include international airfare. Includes shopping at the tourist daily average ($11.87/day).
Trip Cost Calculator
Adjust for your lodging choice and trip length
Excludes international airfare. Based on INE ETR 2023 tourist spending averages.
Where Visitors Come From
Argentina and Brazil account for nearly two-thirds of all tourists entering Paraguay. Visitors from western countries (United States, Spain, Germany) make up approximately 13% of tourists.
Argentina accounts for nearly half of all tourists (48.7%), followed by Brazil (13.9%).
Horizontal bar chart showing tourist source markets by volume: Argentina 48.7%, Brazil 13.9%, United States 5.9%, Spain 5.6%, Chile 5.4%, Uruguay 4.2%, Bolivia 2.9%, Colombia 2.8%, Germany 1.4%, and other countries 9.2%.What the source mix tells you: Argentina's dominance (48.7%) reflects geographic proximity and the large Paraguayan diaspora in Argentina — many of these visitors are Paraguayan nationals living abroad returning home, or cross-border family visits. Brazil's share (13.9%) is similarly influenced by proximity and the Brazilian community in Paraguay. Spain appears in the top 5 despite the distance because many Paraguayan citizens hold Spanish citizenship through ancestry (many families fled Paraguay's Stroessner dictatorship in the 1980s and 1990s, settling in Spain). The US share (5.9%) represents a meaningful expat and remote-worker market — the highest of any non-bordering western country. Germany's 1.4% reflects a small but consistent tourism and business-travel market.
Same-Day Visitor Source Markets
Same-day visitors (excursionists) come almost entirely from Argentina and Brazil — cross-border shoppers at Ciudad del Este.
Same-day visitors are almost entirely from Argentina (59.5%) and Brazil (40.2%).
Horizontal bar chart showing same-day visitor source markets: Argentina 59.5%, Brazil 40.2%, Other countries 0.2%.Western Tourist Share
Combined western tourist share: ~12.9% (US 5.9% + Spain 5.6% + Germany 1.4%). When the western filter is active, non-western countries are dimmed to show only the western share of tourist traffic.
Western Tourist Share: ~12.9% of visitors. Only 3 of 9 western countries are individually listed; 6 others are in "Other countries."
Horizontal bar chart showing tourist source markets. Argentina 48.7%, Brazil 13.9%, United States 5.9%, Spain 5.6%, Chile 5.4%, Uruguay 4.2%, Bolivia 2.9%, Colombia 2.8%, Germany 1.4%, and other countries 9.2%. Click western filter chips to highlight US, Spain, and Germany bars.Important caveat: This filter shows visitor share by country of residence — it does NOT show how much western tourists spend per day. INE does not publish per-country spending figures in the public ETR 2023 report. The $45.60/day tourist average applies across all nationalities.
The 9-country western filter list: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France, Italy, Australia. Six of these (Canada, UK, Netherlands, France, Italy, Australia) are bundled in "Other countries" (9.2%) and cannot be separated in the public data.
Why People Visit
Trip purpose shapes spending patterns significantly. Half of all tourists are visiting family and friends — which explains why the average lodging spend is only $8.34/night when hotel guests pay $101.51/night.
Half of tourists are visiting family/friends; 76% of same-day visitors come to shop.
Grouped bar chart comparing tourist and same-day visitor trip purposes. For tourists: visiting family/friends 50.6%, leisure 25.6%, business 17.2%, conferences 2.6%, shopping 1.1%, other 3.0%. For same-day visitors: shopping 76.0%, leisure 9.6%, business 7.2%, visiting family/friends 5.5%, other 1.8%.What this means for your scouting trip: The $45.60/day average includes a large VFR segment that pays little or nothing for lodging. If you are coming for leisure or business — not visiting family — your spending profile will likely be closer to the hotel-stayer figures in Section 5 ($101.51/night for lodging) than the overall tourist average.
Notable for residency-seekers: Business and professional travel is the second-largest purpose for tourists (17.2%) — ahead of conferences, seminars, and shopping combined. This is not a leisure-only destination. Many of the people evaluating Paraguay as a residency option are doing so on a business-purpose trip, which aligns closely with the hotel-stayer budget profile.
Note: INE does not publish per-purpose spending figures in the public report. The table above shows the share of visitors by purpose, not what each group spends. The connection between VFR travelers and lower lodging costs is an editorial inference based on the lodging-type data in Section 5.
Full Data Table
All spending, source market, and trip purpose data from the ETR 2023 survey in a single searchable table. Use the search box to filter rows, or click column headers to sort.
| Category | Tourist avg (USD) ↕ | Tourist share | Excursionist avg (USD) ↕ | Excursionist share | Blended avg (USD) ↕ | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food & drink | $15.59 | 34.2% | $4.53 | 5.2% | $12.42 | Largest tourist category |
| Shopping | $11.87 | 26.0% | $80.04 | 91.8% | $31.43 | Largest excursionist category |
| Lodging | $8.34 | 18.3% | — | — | $5.95 | Excursionists don't stay overnight |
| Transport | $4.30 | 9.4% | $1.40 | 1.6% | $3.47 | Local transport and car rental |
| Recreation | $3.87 | 8.5% | — | — | $2.76 | Leisure, culture, entertainment |
| Other | $1.63 | 3.6% | $1.20 | 1.4% | $1.50 | Miscellaneous |
| Total | $45.60 | 100% | $87.16 | 100% | $57.53 | Blended is volume-weighted |
| Country | Tourist share ↕ | Excursionist share ↕ | Western? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 48.7% | 59.5% | No |
| Brazil | 13.9% | 40.2% | No |
| United States | 5.9% | — | Yes |
| Spain | 5.6% | — | Yes |
| Chile | 5.4% | — | No |
| Uruguay | 4.2% | — | No |
| Bolivia | 2.9% | — | No |
| Colombia | 2.8% | — | No |
| Germany | 1.4% | — | Yes |
| Other countries | 9.2% | 0.2% | Mixed |
| Accommodation type | Nightly lodging spend | Average stay (nights) | Per-trip lodging cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel | $101.51 | 4.43 | ~$450 |
| Extra-hotel (Airbnb, guesthouses) | $33.93 | 7.35 | ~$249 |
| Other (family/friends, mixed) | $31.97 | 11.82 | ~$378 |
| Overall average | $8.34 | 9.24 | ~$77 |
| Purpose | Tourist share ↕ | Excursionist share ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting friends/family | 50.6% | 5.5% |
| Vacations/leisure/recreation | 25.6% | 9.6% |
| Business/professional | 17.2% | 7.2% |
| Shopping | 1.1% | 76.0% |
| Conferences/congresses/seminars | 2.6% | — |
| Other | 3.0% | 1.8% |
| Transport mode | Tourist share ↕ | Excursionist share ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| Airplane | 47.6% | — |
| Long-distance international bus | 24.9% | — |
| Private car/van | 21.5% | 9.0% |
| Pedestrian/crossing on foot | — | 31.9% |
| Urban bus | — | 29.7% |
| Interurban bus | — | 24.8% |
| Train | 2.5% | — |
| Other | 3.5% | 4.6% |
Nearly half of tourists arrive by air (47.6%) — mostly through Asunción's Silvio Pettirossi International Airport. A quarter arrive by long-distance international bus from Argentina, Brazil, or Bolivia. The transport split for excursionists is very different: 31.9% walk across the border on foot and another 54.5% arrive by bus, reflecting the short-distance nature of cross-border shopping trips from Ciudad del Este and Encarnación.
| Year ↕ | Tourists | Same-day visitors | Total | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,214,613 | 2,866,454 | 4,081,067 | — |
| 2016 | 1,308,198 | 3,009,777 | 4,317,975 | +6% |
| 2017 | 1,583,937 | 3,160,266 | 4,744,203 | +10% |
| 2018 | 1,180,937 | 3,002,253 | 4,183,190 | -12% |
| 2019 | 1,215,645 | 3,152,366 | 4,368,011 | +4% |
| 2020 | 252,044 | 825,554 | 1,077,598 | -75% |
| 2021 | 94,846 | 475,756 | 570,602 | -47% |
| 2022 | 579,471 | 968,930 | 1,548,401 | +171% |
Source: Observatorio Turístico / Dirección Nacional de Migraciones / SENATUR estimates.
COVID crash and recovery: International visitor arrivals peaked at 4.74 million in 2017 — driven largely by cross-border shopping traffic from Argentina and Brazil. The pandemic caused a catastrophic drop: arrivals fell 75% in 2020 and a further 47% in 2021, bottoming at 570,602 total visitors in 2021. A partial recovery brought 1.55 million visitors in 2022 (+171%), still only one-third of the pre-COVID peak. The ETR 2023 survey was conducted in May–June 2023, during the recovery period, and likely reflects below-trend tourism volumes.
Methodology
Source: INE Paraguay, Inbound Tourism Survey 2023 (ETR 2023), published August 2023.
Full report: ETR 2023 — Principales Resultados (PDF, 33 pages)
Survey Design
- ✓Conducted by: INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) with SENATUR (Secretaría Nacional de Turismo) and BCP (Banco Central del Paraguay)
- ✓Sample size: 4,211 non-resident visitors aged 15 and older
- ✓Collection period: May–June 2023
- ✓Collection points: Four border posts — Aeropuerto Internacional Silvio Pettirossi (Asunción), Puente de la Amistad (Ciudad del Este), Puente San Roque González de Santa Cruz (Encarnación), Puente San Ignacio de Loyola (José Falcón)
- ✓Questionnaire: 33 questions, digital format (Dispositivo Móvil de Captura)
- ✓Validation: Questionnaire reviewed and validated by SENATUR, BCP, and INE
Definitions
- ✓Tourist: Non-resident visitor who stays at least one night in Paraguay. Includes Paraguayan nationals residing abroad.
- ✓Excursionist (same-day visitor): Non-resident visitor who does not stay overnight. In this survey, predominantly cross-border shoppers from Argentina and Brazil.
- ✓Exclusions: Travelers in transit; persons who work regularly for a company based in Paraguay.
Currency
All figures in US Dollars (USD). INE published the figures in USD. No exchange rate conversion was applied.
Limitations
- ✓Temporal coverage: Survey conducted May–June 2023 only. Seasonal variation is not captured. May–June is low season for tourism in Paraguay — prices during peak season (December–February for summer, July for winter holidays) may be higher.
- ✓Geographic coverage: Only 4 border posts. Visitors entering via other crossings are not captured.
- ✓Prior survey gap: Previous ETR was conducted in 2017. No ETR data exists for 2018–2022.
- ✓Per-country spend not available: The public report does not include daily spend broken down by country of residence. This data exists in the ANDA microdata archive but requires login access.
- ✓Per-purpose spend not available: The public report does not include daily spend broken down by trip purpose. Same ANDA microdata limitation.
- ✓Excursionist spend distortion: Excursionist daily spend ($87.16) is nearly double tourist daily spend ($45.60). This is driven almost entirely by cross-border shopping (92% of excursionist spending is retail). This is not representative of a typical tourist experience.
Blended average: The blended daily average ($57.53) is not published by INE. It is computed on this page using the sample-weighted tourist/excursionist volume split (71.3% tourist / 28.7% excursionist).
ANDA microdata catalog: Variable-level documentation is publicly available at anda.ine.gov.py. The actual microdata (CSV/SAV) requires login or direct request to info@ine.gov.py.
Last updated: 2026-04-09
What This Page Adds vs INE
INE publishes the ETR 2023 as a 33-page PDF presentation in Spanish. This page transforms that data into a planning resource. Specifically:
- ✓ Computes the blended daily average ($57.53) that INE does not publish — the volume-weighted mean of tourist and excursionist spending
- ✓ Separates tourist and excursionist spend so you can identify the right benchmark for a scouting trip — the tourist figure ($45.60), not the excursionist figure ($87.16) or the blended average
- ✓ Computes actual daily budgets by lodging type — ~$127/day for hotel-stayers and ~$59/day for Airbnb/guesthouse guests — by combining lodging-type costs with the other spending categories
- ✓ Breaks down lodging by accommodation type — showing that hotels cost $101.51/night vs the survey average of $8.34/night, which is pulled down by visitors staying with family
- ✓ Adds a western tourist filter showing what share of visitors come from non-bordering western countries (US, Spain, Germany = 12.9% of tourists) vs the regional average
- ✓ Presents the data in English in a scannable, mobile-friendly format with searchable tables, downloadable charts, and a plain-language methodology section
- ✓ Adds street-level price validation using Numbeo crowdsourced data — giving INE averages concrete meaning (e.g., what $15.59/day in food actually looks like at a restaurant in Asunción; 34 contributors, 413 price entries)
What this page does not add: Per-country daily spend, per-purpose daily spend, or spend by accommodation type beyond the lodging category. These breakdowns require INE microdata access and are not in the public report.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Paraguay scouting trip cost?
Tourists visiting Paraguay spend an average of $45.60 per day, according to the official INE 2023 tourism survey of 4,211 international visitors. The daily breakdown: $15.59 on food and drink, $11.87 on shopping, $8.34 on lodging, $4.30 on local transport, and $5.50 on recreation and other expenses.
However, the $45.60 average is pulled down by travelers staying with family (50.6% of tourists), many of whom pay nothing for lodging — an inference supported by the lodging-type data showing hotel guests pay $101.51/night while the overall lodging average is only $8.34/night. For visitors paying for lodging, the actual daily cost is higher: ~$127/day for hotel-stayers and ~$59/day for Airbnb or guesthouse stays. A one-week hotel-based scouting trip runs approximately $970 in-country; the same trip with Airbnb lodging runs about $500. Neither includes international airfare.
These numbers come from overnight visitors — tourists who stay at least one night. The survey also captured same-day visitors (excursionists), who spend $87.16 per day, but their spending is dominated by cross-border shopping at Ciudad del Este and is not representative of a scouting trip. The $45.60 tourist figure is the appropriate benchmark for planning.
Is the $45.60 daily average what I'll actually pay?
Probably close, but not exactly. This is a survey average across all tourists — from backpackers staying in hostels to business travelers in hotels. Your actual spend depends mostly on your accommodation choice: hotel guests average $101.51/night for lodging alone, while extra-hotel guests (Airbnb, guesthouses) average $33.93/night. Food, transport, and other expenses are more consistent across traveler types.
What's the difference between tourist and excursionist spend?
Tourists stay at least one night in Paraguay ($45.60/day average). Excursionists are same-day visitors, mostly cross-border shoppers from Argentina and Brazil ($87.16/day). The excursionist number looks higher because 92% of their spend is retail shopping at places like Ciudad del Este — not tourism activities. For a scouting trip, the tourist figure is your benchmark.
Can I use this to budget a one-week trip?
Yes, as a starting point — but use the right lodging profile. The $45.60/day average includes visitors staying with family, so it underestimates costs for paying guests. For a 7-day hotel-based trip, budget approximately $970 in-country. With Airbnb or guesthouse lodging, budget about $500. Add international airfare separately — the survey covers spending within Paraguay only.
Why is lodging so low in the average ($8.34)?
Because the $8.34 figure blends all accommodation types — including travelers staying with family and friends (many are Paraguayan expats visiting home). When you separate by type: hotel guests spend $101.51/night on lodging, extra-hotel guests spend $33.93/night. The overall average is pulled down by the large visiting-family segment — 50.6% of tourists cite visiting family/friends as their primary purpose.
Who was surveyed?
4,211 non-resident visitors aged 15 and older were surveyed at four border posts (Asunción airport, Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, and José Falcón) during May–June 2023. The survey was conducted by INE with SENATUR and the Banco Central del Paraguay. It excludes travelers in transit and regular cross-border workers.
Where do visitors come from?
Argentina accounts for nearly half of tourists (48.7%), followed by Brazil (13.9%). Western visitors from the US, Spain, and Germany make up about 12.9% combined. For same-day visitors, it is almost entirely Argentina (59.5%) and Brazil (40.2%).
Why is shopping such a big category?
For same-day visitors, shopping is 92% of daily spend — these are day-trippers crossing into Ciudad del Este for retail purchases. For tourists, shopping is $11.87/day (26% of spend), which includes souvenirs, clothing, and electronics. Paraguay's low import taxes make cross-border shopping popular with visitors from neighboring countries.
How many tourists visit Paraguay?
Approximately 1.3 million tourists visited Paraguay annually before COVID (2015–2019 average). The pandemic caused a sharp decline: arrivals fell to 252,000 in 2020 (−75%) and 95,000 in 2021 (−47%). A partial recovery brought 579,000 tourists in 2022 (+171%), but this was still ~55% below the pre-COVID average. The ETR 2023 survey was conducted in May–June 2023, during the recovery period.
For context, the total international visitor count (tourists + same-day visitors) peaked at 4.74 million in 2017 — largely driven by cross-border shopping traffic from Argentina and Brazil. Most visitors to Paraguay are same-day travelers, not overnight tourists.
The survey is from 2023 — are these numbers still accurate in 2026?
Probably slightly higher in dollar terms. The ETR 2023 was conducted in May–June 2023 and published in August 2023. Since then, inflation in Paraguay and currency movements have likely pushed in-country costs 5–15% higher in USD terms. The structural breakdown — what categories visitors spend on, the tourist versus same-day visitor distinction, the lodging-type hierarchy — remains valid. The next full ETR update is expected when INE publishes 2024 or 2025 data.
When will newer ETR data be available?
The previous ETR was conducted in 2017, then not again until 2023 — a six-year gap. INE has not announced an annual cadence, so the next update may be 2024, 2025, or later. When new data is published, this page will be updated in place at the same URL. No year-anchored archive URL will be created.