Brazil’s tourism sector struggles to rebound from the pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a world without Covid-19, the streets of Rio would have been packed with tourists for a week of partying day and night: in 2020, the “marvelous city” hosted 2.1 million tourists over the period.

But industry experts forecast a week with a low influx of tourists in Rio, particularly foreigners.

All of this at a time when the tourism sector is just beginning to rebound after the abrupt drop caused by the pandemic.

“It was very traumatic,” said Federation of Hotels and Restaurants (FBHA) head Alexandre Sampaio, citing official figures showing that tourism industry revenues fell 35% in 2020.

Carnival week will feature a number of concerts and parties in Rio, limited to 70% capacity, with vaccination and mask requirements.

But the Omicron led authorities to cancel street parties for the second consecutive year and postpone the famous samba school parade to April.

“We will have some revenue” from the rescheduled parades, “but we will not reach pre-pandemic levels,” said National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) economist Fabio Bentes.

Bentes expects Carnival week revenues to come in one-third below pre-pandemic levels.

According to his data, the tourism industry, which accounted for 7.7% of Brazil’s economy before the pandemic, with R$551.5 billion (US$110 billion) in direct and indirect revenues in 2019, lost US$94.1 billion in the last two years and over 340,000 jobs.

SLOW REBOUND

Brazil is a highly demanded destination, not only for Rio and Carnival, but also for the Amazon rainforest, the Pantanal wetlands, the colorful colonial capital of Salvador, the breathtaking Iguaçu waterfalls and many other must-see attractions.

But the country has been severely affected by the coronavirus, with nearly 650,000 deaths, second only to the United States.

The pandemic figures improved because over 70% of the population is now fully vaccinated, but visitors are slow to return.

Flavio Miranda looks for customers at the foot of Corcovado hill, where the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer stretches its arms over Rio de Janeiro.

Miranda, a 52-year-old driver from a nearby favela, sells tours of the city’s tourist attractions. When the pandemic hit, he spent 8 months with no work, during which time he relied on food deliveries to feed his family of 4.

Tourists “are coming back, but it’s slow,” he said. His income fell by around 80%. “This place used to be packed with tourists. Now there are virtually none.”

Nearby, Miguel Viana, a 27-year-old engineer on vacation from Portugal, prepares to visit the imposing statue. “The urge to travel was stronger than the pandemic,” he says, chuckling.

But he is one of few. International tourist numbers stand at between 5% and 7% of pre-pandemic levels, Sampaio estimates.

LOCAL TOURISM

Experts say the drop in foreign tourists has been partially offset by an increase in the number of Brazilians traveling within the country, who fear venturing abroad.

“We used to travel mainly abroad. But we were isolated for so long, we wanted to start traveling again. So we decided to start in Brazil,” says Maria Augusta Rosa, 40, a civil servant from the city of Goiania (Midwest) vacationing in Rio.

Experts forecast that the full recovery of Brazil’s tourism sector will not come before 2023, provided that no more unpleasant surprises occur before then.

In Manaus, the “capital of the Amazon,” Remy Harbonnier, a French tour operator who specializes in rainforest accommodations and river cruises, says customer and revenue figures at his company, Heliconia, stand at 80% below pre-pandemic levels.

“Now we are worried about the situation in Ukraine. It’s a little scary,” he says. “We try to say to ourselves: we have overcome 2 years of Covid, we will overcome an armed conflict in Europe.”