CNC projects 2.8% growth for the tourism sector in 2022

The National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) revised upward the annual growth of the tourism sector, which should end the year with a high of 2.8%, compared to last year. In the previous projection, CNC estimated a growth of 2.4%.

The Confederation’s analysis is based on cross-referencing information provided by the Monthly Service Survey (PMS) of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), considering the sector’s monthly revenue generation potential.

For CNC chief economist Fabio Bentes, the tourism sector has been reducing losses in relation to the most acute phases of the pandemic. The trend is for the sector to register, within approximately two months, the same level of revenue volumes that it had in February 2020, pre-pandemic period.

“This recovery has been robust. Obviously, it is justified by the unfolding of the pandemic, by the drop in the number of cases and by the advance of vaccination”, said the economist.

“We have also seen this recent increase in the number of cases, but it seems that we are still a long way from those more critical situations of the first and second waves. So, the trend is that the sector in the July holidays, for example, already registers a revenue volume number similar to the one it had in February 2020”, he added.

Since the beginning of the health crisis, the tourism sector has accumulated a total of R$ 515 billion in lost revenue. In April, the difference between the sector’s revenue generation and its monthly potential recorded a loss of R$ 6.3 billion.

Another factor that shows the recovery of the sector is the formal hiring. In the first six months of 2020, the drop in activity led the sector to eliminate 526,500 jobs – a shrinkage equivalent to 15% of the workforce. In the following months, the sector showed a robust recovery, “recovering” 290 thousand of the vacancies eliminated in that period, highlighting bars and restaurants (+220.5 thousand) and accommodation services (+61.2 thousand). Since May of last year, the monthly balances between admissions and dismissals have been positive, according to CNC.

Holiday

Reservations in the country’s hotel sector for the holiday of Corpus Christi approaching maximum capacity. According to the Brazilian Federation of Accommodation and Food (FBHA), the expectation is 80% occupancy of hotels during the long holiday. In tourist regions such as Alagoas, 88% occupancy is expected, while in Serra Gaúcha, 90%. Some hotels and inns are already at full capacity for a few months.

“This is a holiday that has historically been in high demand, added to the June festivities and the desire of the population to go out in this post-Covid-19 isolation scenario, the date has an even greater demand. Resorts with programming for the whole family and hotels in cities with themed parties tend to be the most sought after”, commented Alexandre Sampaio, president of the FBHA.

In Rio de Janeiro, according to the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry (ABIH-RJ), so far the hotel chain in the interior of the state registers an average of 80.27% of rooms booked for the period from June 16 to 19. In the capital of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Accommodation Means of the Municipality of Rio (HotéisRIO) observes an average of 72.55% in hotels.

The president of HotéisRIO, Alfredo Lopes, attributes the capital’s good result to the fact that Rio is a city with countless cultural and gastronomic options and its proximity to other states, such as São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

“It is a domestic tourism, with visitors from São Paulo, capital and countryside, and Minas Gerais. But our expectation is to reach 85% by the day of the holiday,” he pointed out.