Domestic tourism in Brazil registered a sharp increase in May and shows promising signs for the rest of the year. Two surveys by holiday booking portals indicate that a high percentage of Brazilians will go on staycations this year. And the Northeast is their favourite destination.
Holidays top of priority list.
A recent survey by Booking.com found that 75% of Brazilians are keen to take a trip in the near future. This figure puts Brazil in third place in the world as the country where most people want to travel in 2021, behind just Israel and Vietnam.
Staycations priority for Brazilians
The Booking.com survey also reveals that the vast majority of Brazilians are planning a staycation for their annual break. 81% said that their priority was a holiday within Brazil this year.
Furthermore, 65% said they intend to take their holiday during the rest of 2021, indicating big demand for domestic tourism in Brazil. Coastal destinations are most popular with 62% choosing this option. And 33% of Brazilians plan to take a long-haul staycation.
When it comes to accommodation, over a third plan to take at self-catering establishments, confirming the uptick in this trend. Since the end of lockdown, holiday lets have been increasingly popular throughout Brazil, particularly in lesser-known destinations such as Flecheiras in Ceará.
Northeast favourite for holidays
Another survey confirms the trend highlighted in the Booking.com report. The online travel portal Zarpo found that 9 out of 10 Brazilians intended to go on a staycation this year.
Their preferred destination within Brazil was the Northeast. Over half (52.3%) said that they’d be looking at a holiday in this part of the country, confirming the region’s long-term trend as the favourite spot for domestic tourism in Brazil.
The Southeast ranked as the second most popular with a quarter of Brazilians stating their preference for this region. Just 15% said they would be holidaying in the South.
Airports see rise in domestic tourism in Brazil
May was an excellent month for tourism in Brazil and the best so far this year. Airports throughout the country registered the higher number of passengers with the three largest airlines reporting a big uptick.
According to the national Airport Association (ANAC), the movement at airports in May increased by 39% compared to April. This translates to around 11 million passengers. It also shows that demand for flights is gradually resuming, at both national and international levels.
Confidence in tourism
The Brazilian Tourism Minister, Gilson Machado, attributes the increase to the rise in confidence among Brazilians. “Our country was one of the first ten in the world to set up health and safety protocols specifically for tourism,” he said at a press conference in late June.
Brazil introduced the Responsible Tourism Stamp (Selo de Turismo Responsável) over a year ago and since then, thousands of establishments have earned the right to display it. “The stamp guarantees that our tourists have a safe environment,” Machado said.
(Sources: Ministry of Tourism, Booking.com, Zarpo)
