Sudamericana Uruguay: the first weekend with Brazilian tourists did not meet expectations

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The arrival of tourists for the final of the South American Cup did not meet the expectations of the Uruguayan Chamber of Tourism. Although it was expected that the attendance would be lower than initially expected, tour operators agree that, especially in gastronomy, the final did not move the needle in terms of attendance in restaurants and hotels. However, there was a higher occupancy than in previous weekends.

According to the Uruguayan Chamber of Tourism secretary, Francisco Rodríguez told El Observador that they had already been aware for ten days that the occupancy had dropped and that the attendance to watch Atlético Paranaense against Bragantino (two lower-level Brazilian club teams) would be lower than initially projected.

They had expected between 5,000 and 7,000 people to be accommodated in different hotels registered in the Chamber, and in the end, the number was approximately 3,000 people.

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The reasons given by Rodriguez were that, when the requirements to enter the country and the match, such as the PCR at the entrance and the compulsory anti-virus vaccines to attend the stadium, became known, the reservations, which had been booming, started to fall. In any case, he assured that in Montevideo, the four and five-star hotels were almost at maximum occupancy, while in the lower range hotels, the occupancy was lower.

In principle, since it still did not have access to the final numbers, the Chamber estimated 80% occupancy in Montevideo. In contrast, occupancy ended up being lower than initially projected in the other departments due to the drop in bookings in the last few weeks.

“Most of the hotel stays were for two nights and some for one night who arrived on Saturday directly to the game and left on Sunday afternoon,” said Rodriguez.

That implies that the needle also failed to move for the food and beverage sector because the economic difference occurs when tourists stay several days and attend restaurants on weekdays when locals do not usually go out. “The movement in restaurants did not change much with respect to previous weekends”, he affirmed.

The Center of Retail Grocers, Baristas, Self-service, and Related of Uruguay (Cambadu) expressed the same opinion. “They had no impact at all. Like any other, it was a weekend with very summery nights, which helped sales, but it had no effect. Apart from the fact that some specific stores near the stadium benefited a lot. But it didn’t move the needle at all,” said Cambadu director Daniel Fernández to Telemundo.

Fernando Amado, Director of Tourism of the Municipality of Montevideo, had a reasonable opinion of the attendance this weekend. “It is always better to have between 10 and 15 thousand Brazilians than not to have them, and if this final was not here, they would not have been there.

They spent on hotel and personal consumption, it is like a reactivation after the recent opening of borders, it is excellent news. The main course coming this week is essential”, he assured Desayunos Informales of Channel 12.

Fernandez agreed with Amado that the Libertadores final between Flamengo and Palmeiras – two well-known elite Brazilian sides with huge numbers of fans – will be the highlight and is where all expectations are focused. They are projecting a floor of 20,000 people staying in different hotels and hope that this will result in a good activity for the gastronomic sector.

With information from El Observador