Two new shopping centres have just opened in Ceará creating thousands of new jobs and enhancing the state’s tourist attractions. Demand from resident and visitor consumers continues to grow in the state, leading both regional and national economic performances.
Rio Mar shopping centre, just outside Ceará’s capital Fortaleza, is the latest of ten malls to open over the last five years in the state. Built by Foram who also has shopping centres in Recife and Salvador, Rio Mar houses around 385 shops with 56 of them unique to Fortaleza. As well as boosting the local consumer economy, Rio Mar has created around 8,000 jobs.
Ceará’s first outlet mall has also recently opened. Outlet Fashion Fortaleza, developed by Grupo Varicred, received R$80 million in total investment and is expected to create between 700 and 1,000 jobs. The mall fills a niche market, currently not catered for in the region, and visitor figures are estimated to reach 4 million a year.
Both new shopping centres add potential to Ceará tourism as the state seeks to appeal to a more varied visitor profile. Ceará is already the nation’s favourite holiday destination and was voted best Brazilian state destination 2014 by Brazil’s largest tour operator AVIESP.
The Ceará state authorities are keen to expand local attractions and recent initiatives in this line include the Events and Conference Centre, which has had considerable success in drawing business tourism to the city. Families will find an additional attraction next year in the Fortaleza Aquarium, due to be the largest in South America.
Fortaleza’s profile grew considerably during the summer FIFA World Cup when the city hosted several matches and some 363,000 tourists visited Ceará. International flights to Fortaleza have tripled this year with new weekly connections to Buenos Aires and Miami.
Ceará spends around 10 per cent of its GDP on tourism, an investment praised by businesses in the region. Speaking at the opening of Outlet Fashion Fortaleza, the director of Grupo Varicred said that “Brazil needs more government like the one in Ceará with a spirit of growth and development, and looking for ways to improve people’s lives”.
Source: Government of Ceará
