The resumption of the cruise season in Brazil takes place this Saturday (5), due to the improvement in the scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. At least three ships receive passengers on their first return weekend.
This Saturday, one of them leaves Rio de Janeiro for a three-day itinerary, with a stopover in Ilhabela. Another leaves from Santos to Búzios, Ilha Grande and Rio de Janeiro. And on Sunday, a boat also starts the trip in Santos, heading to Porto Belo, Balneário Camboriú, Cabo Frio and Ilhabela. The three should handle 5,800 passengers.
The Brazilian Association of Cruise Ships (Clia) announced the voluntary interruption of operations in early January. Due to the advance of Covid-19, the entity postponed four times the definitive resumption of operations in the ports of Brazil.
According to Clia, the trips will have 19 itineraries, with eight final destinations. They are: the states of Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, including Balneário Camboriú, Itajaí, Porto Belo, Santos, Ilhabela, Rio de Janeiro, Angra dos Reis/Ilha Grande and Búzios.
“The cruise industry is vital to the global economic recovery. As of July 2020, more than 6 million people have browsed nearly 90 markets worldwide. Companies associated with Clia represent more than 90% of the world’s ocean capacity with approximately 270 ships”, highlighted the association when announcing the return of voyages.
The Brazilian Association of Cruise Ships is still calculating what the financial impact of the interruption will be. Starting in November 2021, the cruise season was expected to carry more than 360,000 tourists, with a financial impact of BRL 1.7 billion. In addition, the sector expected to generate more than 24 thousand jobs.
According to Clia, out of a total of approximately 130,000 passengers transported between November 5 and January 3, 2021, about 1,100 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, which represents less than 1% of the total number of people served ( including guests and crew).
The protocols in force in Brazil remain the same, with mandatory full vaccination for guests and crew, pre-boarding testing (PCR up to three days before the trip or antigen up to one day before the trip), mandatory use of masks, reduced capacity on board to facilitate the 1.5m social distance between groups and allow the distribution of reserved booths to isolate potential cases.
*intern under the supervision of Pauline Frank
Source: CNN Brasil
