Vacations in Brazil: After Omicron and travel requirements, Argentines wait till last minute to make reservations

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian beaches are one of the favorite summer destinations for Argentines, which in turn are by far the most important visitor nation for Brazil. The pandemic and travel restrictions slowed down the tourist movement on one side and the other.

But the recent opening of the neighboring country’s borders has renewed the enthusiasm of those who choose it as a vacation destination.

To enter Brazil, travelers must present a negative PCR 72 hours in advance or harmful antigens within 24 hours before the flight, a health affidavit (form.anvisa.gov.br), and a vaccination certificate (all vaccines are accepted) whose last dose was administered at least 14 days before arrival.

The test must specify the date and time (real-time) when it was done. Children under 12 are exempt from exhibiting a negative test.

Beyond the health requirements, many Argentines encounter economic barriers when buying a ticket. In addition to the 30% ‘country’ tax (levied by Argentina), the 35% AFIP tax (levied by Argentina), and the sky-high dollar, payment in installments for tourist services on trips abroad has been prohibited to Argentine travelers.

Only cash, transfer, deposit, check, or credit card payments can be made at once. According to industry operators, card purchases in installments represented more than 60%.

“Although it is slowly being reactivated, Brazil is not going to have a good season due to the restrictions for entering and returning to Argentina, the restrictions on installments, and the fact that there are fewer direct flights, with uncomfortable frequencies. Punished by the pandemic, the reservations dropped quite a lot,” analyzes Marian Medina of Go Tour travel agency, in dialogue with Clarín newspaper.

She comments that within the short trip sales, the most sought-after destinations for 2022 are Florianópolis, Camboriú, or Rio de Janeiro. “Besides, the advantage of booking now and paying at the last minute is to guarantee the room, but the disadvantage is that, when paying in April or May, you run the risk of the dollar being more expensive”.

OMICRON

Bernardita Solar of Beyond BA tells this news site that people are not being encouraged to make the trip because they are afraid that the rules of the game will change. “Since there has been talking about Omicron, there has been an important retraction. They do not want to experience the closing of borders again. I have several reservations that have not materialized because people do not dare to pay until the last minute,” he emphasizes.

“I had the case of two families who were going to leave by car when the border crossing with Brazil was closed. They had bought the tickets from me and, now that it was opened, they told me that they preferred to leave them issued until the last minute because they were going to evaluate whether they were going to travel by car or by plane,” he explains.

He also points out that he sold many places that offer direct flights, mainly Rio de Janeiro and Salvador de Bahia, but also to Buzios and Praia do Forte.

“During October and November, packages were closed, with excellent hotels. However, in December, sales slowed down a little due to the news of the new variant,” says Solar.

And he emphasizes: “Although I sold quite a lot, it is nothing comparable to the numbers of the past. Even the United States has been more popular than Brazil. Everything I sold is based on excellent level hotels; it was not like in other years when people could go abroad making an effort. This year, the people who have always done it are traveling.”

“Fortunately, my clientele has dollars in the mattress, so the quotas do not make them give up. It is a pity that there are so few flight options to Brazil. I closed four families to Iberostar Bahia, 2 to Buzios, two couples to Rio de Janeiro from September until now,” he highlights.

On the other hand, Alejandra Toledo from Swan Turismo, a wholesale agency in Brazil, told Clarín: “In October, I made a lot of price quotations. In the last three months of the year, everything that could not be sold in the previous months was sold. The most popular is Rio de Janeiro because flights are more affordable.”

The surprising thing is that, according to Alejandra, some travelers are leaning towards Fernando de Noronha, a remote island in the Atlantic with very few inhabitants, because they feel safer there. “For the moment, I’m not going to take any more reservations because there is uncertainty for everyone,” she says.

The most sought-after tourist spots are still one of the many dream beaches in Santa Catarina state: the most popular are Florianópolis, Camboriu and Bombinhas. However, she notes that Governador Celso Ramos (Praia de Palmas) has grown strongly in recent years.

With information from Clarin

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error