Demand for Cruises in Brazil Increases 21 Percent in the First Semester

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This is the third year running in which the flow of passengers shows growth, according to data released yesterday, October 17th, by CLIA Brasil, a cruise industry trade association.

According to the organization, in the first six months of 2019, 293,000 Brazilian tourists boarded ships on the country’s coast, an increase of 21 percent over the same period in 2018, when 231,400 passengers were carried.

Including cruise departures inside and outside the country, 402,000 passengers have been carried, an increase of 16.1 percent compared to 346,000 in the same period in 2018.

Brazilians represent 64 percent of cruise customers in South America, the continent’s largest market. Argentines and Colombians represent 17 and 7 percent, respectively.

According to CLIA, the average age among this type of passenger is 45 and the average duration of the trip is 6.5 days.

Among domestic destinations, the Brazilian coast is the most popular cruise route in the country, representing 73 percent of all domestic passenger trips in the first half of 2019.

The Caribbean is yet another preferred destination, with 64,000 Brazilians sailing to the region between January and June 2019. Africa and the Middle East are also noteworthy, as these destinations have almost doubled in popularity since last year.

In the 2018/2019 season, Brazil hosted seven ships that crossed the country’s coast for 841 days (5.4 percent more than in the previous season), carrying approximately 462,000 passengers.

“In Brazil, the 2019/2020 cruise season will welcome eight ships, one more than last season, bringing 531,121 beds that will be divided into 144 routes and 575 stopovers. The 2018/2019 season accounted for an economic impact of R$2.083 billion (US$520.75 million) in the country’s economy, generating 31,992 jobs,” said the organization.

Passenger terminal

With the growth in the number of cruises, the Ministry of Infrastructure signed, in September, a contract for the construction of the first port with an exclusive cruise ship passenger terminal.

The terminal will be built in the port of Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina by the company PDBS. The government’s goal is to build 15 maritime tourism facilities throughout Brazil.

The Ministry of Tourism estimates that the impact on Brazilian maritime tourism with the Balneário Camboriú terminal will be over 300,000 tourists, with five more cruise ships operating, with 120,000 foreign passengers.

“The economic impact would be more than R$2 billion, an increase of 100 percent considering the 2018/2019 data,” said the ministry.

Source: Agência Brasil