Hotel occupancy in Brazil topped 80% over the recent holiday season, with establishments in some parts of the country enjoying almost 100%. New Year was particularly busy as Brazilian tourists filled hotels in coastal destinations. Ceará in Northeast Brazil ranked, yet again, among the favourites with 90% occupancy levels in its hotels.
Positive start to year for hotel occupancy in Brazil
Domestic tourism in Brazil has grown exponentially since summer 2020 and as a result, expectations in the hotel sector was high for the festive period. In the end, reality exceeded the expectations, with many destinations in the country seeing higher occupancy than forecast.
On average, hotels in Brazil registered over 80% occupancy, which rose to above 90% in many parts of the country. For example, in Northeast Brazil, Recife had occupancy levels of around 95% and Rio de Janeiro, 92%. In Ceará, hotels were over 90% full.
“We had excellent results in most destinations,” said Gilson Machado Neto, the Minister of Tourism, “and they bring a huge boost to the sector.”
Confidence in secure travel
Machado attributed the successful season to the health and hygiene protocols adopted throughout the country. “Our tourists feel confident about travelling in the country,” he said while highlighting the increasing number of establishments and destinations that have joined the national Responsible Tourism programme.
Ceará was one of the first states to place health and hygiene at the forefront of its priorities. As a result, in October 2020, Ceará received the World Travel and Tourism Council Safe Travels Seal, certifying that the state complies with international protocol.
Busy airports in Brazil
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Brazilian airports saw a busy festive season with around 6.7 million passengers in the second half of December. The figure is 55% higher than the same period in 2020, indicating that Brazilian tourism is gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The country’s busiest airports were both in Sao Paulo. Congonhas handled 844,600 passengers and Viracopos, 634,000. Many of the flights were to Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará, a major hub for LATAM services. The airline recently increased its flights between Fortaleza and Sao Paulo by over 32%.
Positive year for hotel occupancy in Brazil
The high occupancy figures for the recent holiday season point to another solid year for hotels in Brazil. The sector already showed steady improvement throughout 2021 with establishments in Northeast Brazil performing particularly well.
In July last year, hotels in states such as Ceará and Recife enjoyed their best summer ever with the highest bookings since January 2019. Hotels in high-end resorts were particularly popular with those in beach destinations the preferred establishments for Brazilian holidaymakers.
On the back of figures for the past summer season and New Year, industry experts believe that 2022 will see a continuation of high occupancy levels for hotels in Brazil.
(Source: TRAVEL2LATAM)
