Brazil and Global Tourism

Best of the Península de Maraú: 'Lake Region' and chains of lakes, Atlantic Rain Forests, hills, mangroves, untracked beaches.

From the HotelBenchmark™ Survey, 2007, comparing global tourism and national performance....

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4030552.html

"With so much promise, but so many problems, Brazil has yet to fulfil its massive potential as a holiday destination – but there were signs of change in 2006. Stimulated by state investment in infrastructure and incentives targeted at developers, the government tourism body, Embratur, is encouraging hotel investment along Brazil’s north-eastern beach resorts."



Extract on Central & South America from the HotelBenchmark™ Global Performance Review
6 March 2007

Will the real Latin America please step forward – in one corner, political instability, boom and bust economics and severe social problems, in the other, vibrant multi-ethnic cultures, cosmopolitan cities and unrivalled natural beauty.

In 2006 the region was finally stepping out of the shadows of 2001-02. With both the Central American (+8.7%) and South American (+8.1%) regions exceeding the global average for tourist arrivals by some distance, the hospitality industry is happy. Investors’ confidence levels are also rising. South American nations are enjoying an influx of capital from Western Europe, while Central America is benefiting from its proximity to the USA, often in the form of large high-end projects such as golf resorts and residences. International hotel chains are also setting up home, with cities such as Buenos Aires, Caracas and Santiago seeing the supply of the four and five-star rooms swell.

While no Latin American city makes the top 20 of the revPAR GRI, many cities are climbing back from their post-Millennium lows – as illustrated in the graph below. Rio de Janiero leads the region in 61st place, followed by Buenos Aires and Mexico City, at 62nd and 70th place respectively.

Source: HotelBenchmark™ Survey by Deloitte

With so much promise, but so many problems, Brazil has yet to fulfil its massive potential as a holiday destination – but there were signs of change in 2006. Stimulated by state investment in infrastructure and incentives targeted at developers, the government tourism body, Embratur, is encouraging hotel investment along Brazil’s north-eastern beach resorts.

Embratur has also opened dedicated tourism offices in the US and major European cities in an attempt to drive up international arrivals to Brazil, which has traditionally relied on domestic tourism. While around 65m Brazilians holidayed at home in 2006, just 6m international visitors joined them.

The importance of more tourists from overseas is clear – while domestic tourists embrace the low-cost culture initiated by GOL Airlines and Accor’s Formula 1 brand, international visitors are prepared to spend much more. The 6m international tourists spent around US$5 billion in Brazil – the same amount as the 65m domestic tourists. One long-term problem for Brazil has been its lack of air links with Europe, which is reflected in the low number of arrivals last year – 2.5m. However, new direct Lufthansa flights between Munich and Sao Paulo are having an impact. The airline, in combination with Swissair, now offers 19 direct flights to Brazil every week.

The carnival capital of the world, Rio de Janeiro, is undoubtedly one of the world’s most beautiful cities. But Rio’s tourism is hampered by its reputation abroad, and the events of 2006 will not have helped. In terms of supply, Rio’s hotel industry remains fairly static. With the Ipanema and Copacabana districts already over-developed, there is little land left for construction. This maybe why average room rates have increased to just over US$155 in 2006, a rise of 12.7% from 2005, in turn driving revPAR. Occupancy levels are static at a little over 60%.