With less than three months to go before the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is preparing for one of the world’s biggest sporting events. An essential component of the Games is the arrival of the Olympic torch, due to set foot in the state of Ceará in early June where it will spend three days. As this BRIC Group news article reports, in the capital Fortaleza, where locals have just celebrated the city’s 290th anniversary, preparations are well underway.
After the successful FIFA World Cup games in 2014, Ceará already has experience in big events. The football matches placed the state and Fortaleza (host city) on the international tourism circuit and the arrival of the Olympic torch will once again bring this area in Northeast Brazil firmly into the spotlight.
Olympic torch in Ceará
The torch bearing the flame that will light up the start of the Brazilian Olympic Games in early August gets to Ceará on 7 June. Since this is a state with some of the loveliest beaches in Brazil, the torch will appropriately arrive and leave on the coast.
Aracuti, home to the iconic Brazilian beach Canoa Quebrada, is the entry point for the torch, which then passes through nine municipalities in the state. These include Fortaleza and also Sobral in the interior so the Olympic flame visits the most typical landscapes in Ceará: the beautiful coastline with its 600km of beaches; the urban skyline of the capital; and the drier inland countryside. Three days after its arrival the torch leaves Ceará by the coastal resorts of Camocim and Barroquinha.
The capital of Ceará is already in festive mode since it has just commemorated its 290th anniversary as a city. The Fortaleza celebrations lasted three days and concentrated on Iracema Beach, one of the main city beaches in Northeast Brazil.
The same beach will be one of the scenarios for the St John celebrations in June, one of the most important festivals in Brazil. Fortaleza and the Ceará beaches are traditional favourites with Brazilian holidaymakers during these festivities.
Favourite place for a holiday in Brazil
In the latest monthly survey of preferences, Northeast Brazil yet again ranks as the national favourite for holiday destinations. In the March survey carried out in the country’s seven largest cities, 49.4 per cent of Brazilians said they planned to visit the Northeast within the next six months. This percentage has increased 17.8 per cent over the year and stands way ahead of the next Brazilian holiday region, the Southeast with just 25.2 per cent.
The survey also highlighted the big increase in the number of Brazilians planning to holiday within their own country. 72.9 per cent of those interviewed said they intended to spend a holiday in Brazil, the highest percentage for the month of March on record. In addition, there was significant growth in the number choosing non-hotel accommodation – up 19.8 per cent.
“The Olympic Games represent an extraordinary opportunity for tourism in Brazil,” commented Dies Poppeliers, Managing Director of BRIC Group, “and like the World Cup, the event will allow top tourist destinations to come to the global forefront. We look forward to seeing locations in Ceará on the international news as the Olympic torch makes its way through this stunning part of Brazil.”
An investment company specialising in global real estate opportunities, BRIC Group is currently developing The Coral resort, in Northeast Brazil, a luxury beachfront resort. BRIC Group also offers US real estate investments including turnkey properties in Florida and Houston, and land plots in Florida. BRIC Group has been creating wealth for its clients since 1996 and has offices in Brazil, Dubai (consulting office), Hungary, Spain and the US.
Source: Brazilian Ministry of Tourism
