Rio’s tourist sector celebrates hotel occupancy and holiday billing

Hotels with almost 100% of rooms reserved, bars and restaurants with an increase in turnover of around 30% and crowded beaches. So ended the long holiday at the Rio de Janeiro. A very different reality compared to the same period last year, when the population was still not being vaccinated against Covid-19.

According to the Rio Hotel Association (Abih) and the Brazilian Bar and Restaurant Association (abrasel), this was the best economic moment for tourism since the beginning of the pandemic and the sector’s expectation for Christmas and New Year’s is that the movement is compatible with the pre-pandemic period.

Data obtained by CNN show that the occupancy of national and international flights to Rio de Janeiro has its maximum capacity for the last two weeks of the year. According to RIOgaleão, normally the occupancy rate for this period is 83%.

The liberalization of the use of masks in open places, the low rates of contagion by Covid-19 and the pleasant temperature are among the main factors responsible for the high demand of tourists for beaches and commercial establishments.

“The city of Rio de Janeiro attracts many tourists on these commemorative dates. The expectation is for an increase in sales in the order of 30% to 35%. The main movement is still being for domestic tourism, Brazilians from other regions, but little by little we are hearing other languages, tourists from other countries are returning to the city”, said Pedro Hermeto, president of Abrasel-RJ, which celebrates the resumption of the sector.

The hotel sector also noticed the high demand from visitors during the Republic holiday. Abih informed that there were no more vacancies in most of the city’s hotels and those located in the South Zone and in Barra da Tijuca had 100% of the rooms booked between Friday (12) and Monday (15).

For the street vendor on Copacabana beach, Denilson Guedes, representative of the Association of Legalized Beach Commerce of the state of Rio de Janeiro (Ascolpra), the pleasant temperature was one of the main factors for the high demand.

“We are witnessing an improvement in movement on the beaches. The pleasant temperature was fundamental for the high demand of tourists. The beaches are the tourism thermometer here in the city of Rio. If the beaches are crowded, we can say that the economy is moving forward”, he assesses.

New Year parties

Tourism in Rio de Janeiro foresees a compatible movement at pre-pandemic levels for the last half of December, dates close to Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Data obtained by CNN show that the occupancy of national and international flights to Rio de Janeiro has its maximum capacity for the last two weeks of the year. According to RIOgaleão, normally the occupancy rate for this period is 83%.

The expectation of a high demand for tourists in Rio de Janeiro is confirmed by the survey carried out by Kayak. The data released last week by the online agency show the capital of Rio de Janeiro as the most sought-after national destination among Brazilians, appearing ahead of Recife, Salvador and Fortaleza.