RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The tourism sector in Brazil earned R$15.4 billion (US$3.1 billion) in March – an increase of 43.5% compared to the same month in 2021. The data are from the Tourism Council of FecomercioSP (Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services, and Tourism of the State of São Paulo).
Despite still being 7.1% below the pre-pandemic level, the area shows recovery. Two sectors were primordial for the advance: lodging and food (R$4.5 billion) and air transport (R$4.4 billion).
The airline sector advanced 113.5% in one year. In comparison with 2019, however, it fell 3.8%. According to FecomercioSP, four factors contributed to the high:
- Greater containment of the omicron variant;
- Pent-up demand in the pandemic;
- Carnaval days at the beginning of the month;
- Reduced restrictions and use of masks. The increase in aviation kerosene prices also influenced the increase in revenue.
The movement in the airports also caused the accommodation and food services to advance 57.7%, with revenues of R$4.5 billion. The cultural, recreational, and sports activities grew 33.2%, reaching R$1.3 billion.
According to the federation, the same reasons that influenced the increase in the air transport sector also impacted land transport – which invoiced R$2.7 billion, growing 11.1%. It exceeded by 9.3% the level recorded in March 2019.
Rental of means of transport, tourism agency, operators, and other services advanced 4.5%, with gains of R$2.5 billion. Water transportation invoiced R$41.4 million – a drop of 1.6% in the annual comparison.
For April, FecomercioSP expects that the Carnaval holidays and parades will positively impact national tourism. However, there is still “the challenge of mitigating the increase in costs, both to reduce the transfer to consumers and to maintain profitability,” says the federation.
According to Mariana Aldrigui, president of the FecomercioSP’s Tourism Council, the economic scenario will imply a drop in the number of people traveling – whether for leisure or business.
“The diversification of the product offer with lower final cost or good installment payment conditions can be an alternative for the travel agency and operation sector. Short-distance domestic tourism tends to be strengthened,” says Aldrigui.
With information from Poder360