New Year’s Eve fills hotels and animates bars and restaurants in Rio

After being hit hard by the pandemic, the tourism sector in the city of Rio de Janeiro is experiencing an atmosphere of optimism with the proximity of New Year’s Eve. The Rio hotel chain projects 100% occupancy until the New Year’s Eve, and bars and restaurants also feel an increase in the flow of customers.

In an attempt to curb agglomerations, the City of Rio canceled musical shows, but kept the fireworks displayed in spots like Copacabana beach, in the south zone.

Occupation of the city’s hotel network began this week in the range of 92%, according to a balance from HotéisRIO (Unification of Accommodation Means of the City of Rio de Janeiro).

The expectation is to reach 100% with an audience made up mostly of Brazilian tourists, says the organization’s president, Alfredo Lopes.

The manager attributes the heated demand to a combination of factors. Among them are the high dollar, which makes traveling abroad more expensive, and the advance of vaccination against Covid-19.

In Rio, more than 80% of the total population has already received the two doses or the single dose of immunizing agents, according to data from the city hall. The municipal administration determines the presentation of proof of vaccination for entry into places such as hotels, bars and restaurants.

“There are a set of factors to explain the demand. The dollar and the euro are very expensive, there was a resurgence of Covid-19 in other countries. We have a high rate of vaccination coverage in Rio, and people want to celebrate,” says Lopes.

“As New Year’s Eve fell this year from Friday to Saturday, travel packages are more extended. People stay in the city,” he adds.

The bar and restaurant branch also celebrates the arrival of visitors after the damage felt in the pandemic.

Establishments that usually receive tourists in the city expect a nominal increase (not taking into account inflation) of 25% to 30% in sales due to the New Year compared to the sector’s performance in recent months, says the president of Abrasel (Association Brasileira de Bars and Restaurants) in Rio de Janeiro, Pedro Hermeto.

The entity forecasts numbers similar to those of New Year’s Eve 2019, in the pre-crisis period. “Without a doubt, you can see a greater movement. There is a clear improvement in demand with the proximity of New Year’s Eve. The volume of customers has increased a lot”, says Hermeto.

In his view, Rio’s tourist vocation and the repressed demand in the pandemic help explain the scenario at the turn of the year.

The heated demand comes at a time of cost pressure for bars and restaurants. In recent months, items such as food and electricity have become more expensive, which puts pressure on business profit margins.

“Costs are very worrying. Inflation is taking margin, we are not able to pass on 100% of the increase in expenses to prices. Most restaurants are already passing it on to the menu, but they cannot fully. Our margin is smaller” , comments.

Last week, when detailing the New Year’s Eve operation, the city hall stated that it followed the recommendations of the city’s scientific committee. The municipal administration pointed out that there will be fireworks at ten points in Rio to try to avoid major displacements of the population.

“We want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a calm, safe and organized way. We had a meeting of the scientific committee that confirmed the holding of New Year’s Eve as presented by the city hall. We also had authorization from the scientific committee of the state government. not to encourage large displacements and large agglomerations”, said Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) at the time.

In October, a report from leaf showed that the tourism sector in cities such as Rio projected a greater demand due to the festive dates in the final stretch of 2021. What already excited the sector was the combination of lesser restrictions on the movement of people and repressed demand for travel during the pandemic .