Rio revamps tourism campaign to celebrate Sweethearts’ Day (Dia dos Namorados)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The “O Rio Não Para” (Rio Doesn’t Stop) campaign, launched by the tourism production sector in 2019, has now been resumed, with the goal of providing tourists in the city with exclusive benefits and discounts, which will extend throughout the year.

The vice-president of the Lodging Facilities Association of Rio de Janeiro (HotéisRIO), Ronnie Arosa, said yesterday, June 10, that the promotional initiative has been fully revamped and, leveraging two dates in the month of June, Dia dos Namorados (Sweethearts’ Day) on June 12 and the International LGBTQIA+ Pride Day on June 28.

The O Rio Não Para (Rio Doesn’t Stop) campaign, launched by the tourism production sector in late 2019, but paused during the pandemic, has now been resumed, with the goal of providing tourists in the city with exclusive benefits and discounts.

The campaign will be called ‘O Rio Não Para, para Você Não Parar de Se Apaixonar’ (Rio Doesn’t Stop, So You Won’t Stop Falling In Love).

“Several tourism sectors, tourist attractions, trade dedicated to tourism, joined to see what we can do better for the sector’s resumption. Since June is the month of lovers, we wanted to seize this to tell people to come and visit Rio de Janeiro and show that Rio is prepared, complying with all the sanitary norms, and we are not stopped. We are still open, working, strictly following the sanitary rules,” Arosa said.

Open air attractions predominate

According to Arosa, the initiative aims to attract tourists to Rio, even locals from the city itself, or from nearby cities, because there is much to offer this time of the year, “to show that cultural and tourist attractions are operating.” Arosa emphasized that Rio de Janeiro is an open city, because most of its attractions are open-air. “This greatly helps the people who visit tourist attractions without major problems, because there aren’t many crowds. We believe that Rio is a fantastic city to attract the public in this resumption of travel.”

However, he pointed out that although the pandemic is better controlled in the capital, care and requirements to travel safely are necessary. And he recalled that the Tom Jobim-RIOgaleão International Airport, in December last year, received the international certificate of the Airport Health Program. Likewise, parks and tourist attractions have international certificates of compliance with health standards, as well as the hotel industry, which won the state’s Conscious Tourism seal. “We are complying with all safety standards,” he reiterated.

According to Arosa, tourists who come to Rio de Janeiro will have a “wonderful” and controlled experience. He pointed out that, besides attracting visitors, the campaign intends to introduce tourists to new experiences. “Each month, we will offer new packages. The plan is not to see Rio as two or three activities. We will be able to enjoy Rio better. All the cultural attractions and hotels are holding specific promotions, romantic packages. The plan is to think that tourism in Rio de Janeiro will be a tourism of experience. Each month there will be a new theme. We will work on these themes, to offer tourists new experiences each month.”

Benefits

Throughout the month of June, those who visit the city will be entitled to special benefits from the partners involved in the project, so that the tourist will live a unique experience in the city. Those who stay in Rio’s hotels, for example, will get discounts on the daily rates, which can include romantic packages for Valentine’s Day, offered by each enterprise. Most packages include a romantic dinner, sparkling wine, and special decorations.

The Bondinho Pão de Açúcar has prepared the promotional campaign Casal Maravilha (Wonderful Couple). When buying a ticket on the official site, using the coupon CASALMARAVILHA, the second ticket will have a 50% discount. The discount will be applied to the ticket with the lowest value, and is valid only for tickets purchased for the same visitation date, as long as they are used together at the park entrance, until the 20th. Another special action will be an “Instagrammable” spot for couples in love, who can take pictures in a frame of a giant heart, strategically located, in order to produce beautiful photographic records.

Other tourist attractions in the city such as Christ the Redeemer, AquaRio, and Rio’s BioPark are also giving discounts of up to 45% off the price of two tickets when bought together. The action is called Par Perfeito (Perfect Pair) and aims to make it easier for people to celebrate love and stay connected to nature.

The Rio Doesn’t Stop project is promoted by a working group formed by businessmen from the entertainment and hotel industry sectors, and aims to promote the development of the tourism sector and increase the flow of visitors to the city. Among the project’s partners and supporters are HotéisRIO, RIOgaleão, Bondinho Pão de Açúcar, Grupo Cataratas, RioLine, and the Olympic Golf Course.