RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The sharp decline of the dollar from above R$5.60 at the beginning of the year to around R$5.00 in recent days brought back plans to travel abroad to many Brazilians. These are plans that are also gaining strength with the fall in the number of cases of covid in the world.
A sample of this tendency will be known this Monday, the 28th, with the release at 9:30 AM of the results of the Brazilian external accounts by the Brazilian Central Bank.
The monthly report for February will bring data on spending by Brazilian tourists abroad, as well as macro information such as foreign direct investment in the country and the country’s balance (or deficit) in the so-called current account with the world.
The expectation is that the numbers reinforce the beginning of a trend of increased spending by Brazilians in other countries. Last month, the dollar was already being negotiated at the level of R$5.10 to R$5.20.
It was already observed in January when these expenditures totaled US$690 million, more than double – an increase of 124% – than in the same month of 2021. In that month last year, with the pandemic still in its acute stage, many countries that are among the most popular destinations for Brazilians had their borders closed.
Despite the gradual return, the travel and spending of Brazilians abroad are still much lower than before the pandemic in the final months of 2019 and early 2020. At the time, monthly spending exceeded US$1 billion.
The downturn reflected that in the closing year of 2021, tourist spending abroad totaled US$5.25 billion – a monthly average of US$437.5 million – the lowest volume in 16 years.
Last Friday, the 25th, the dollar closed at R$4.74, representing a 15% drop from R$5.57 at the end of 2021.
The sharp devaluation of the dollar has a significant impact on the cost of travel.
In a hypothetical trip of US$2,000 to the United States, including airfare, lodging, food, transportation, and shopping expenses, this US$0.83 drop would represent a savings of R$1,660.
Instead of costing R$11,140, the trip would cost R$9,480. The simulation considers the commercial dollar and does not include the impact of the Tax on Financial Transactions (IOF) on the expenses.
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