By João Marcelo
SAO PAULO – Carnival is one of the biggest events that take place in Brazil. The party, which officially extends for 4 days, moves Brazilian tourism and attracts people from all over the world. Last year, the party attracted 15 million revelers in the city of São Paulo alone and 7 million in Rio de Janeiro. The cities of Salvador, Olinda and Recife totaled more than 6 million people on carnival days.
However, in 2021, the carnival had to be canceled due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus and this had a major impact on the country’s economy. One of the most affected cities is Rio de Janeiro, which last year raised more than R $ 4.5 billion. This year, the estimate, according to the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV IBRE), is that Rio de Janeiro, added to the metropolitan region, stopped collecting 5.5 billion reais, which represents a slice 1.5% of the city’s GDP. In an interview with the Brazilian Tourism Portal, researcher Cláudio Considera stated that the city has a great vocation for tourism, which has increased the damage to public coffers and the population, especially for the poorest. “It is important to note that for the party to happen, there are thousands of professionals working all year, who found themselves without any income in 2020, when everything stopped. In other words, the event makes the economy run, generating jobs and income”. In the sector cultural, hospitality and gastronomy are around 100 thousand jobs that are at stake.
According to the survey, if it were not for the cancellation of the party due to the pandemic, the city of Rio would generate R $ 4.4 billion due to spending by Brazilian tourists, which represent 88% of tourists, with an average stay of 6, 6 days, and spending, on average, R $ 280.32 per day. Foreign tourists represent 12%, with an average stay of 7.7 days and an average expense of R $ 334.01 per day.