The impact of the pandemic of COVID-19 on tourism in Brazil in the first half of 2021 included 75% of Brazilian tour operators making less than a quarter of the pre-pandemic period boardings. This data was released by the Brazilian Tour Operators Association (Braztoa) in its June industry report.
The COVID-19 pandemic was most lethal in Brazil in the first half of this year, when the number of COVID-19 victims rose from 200.000 on January 7 to 518.000 by the end of June, a figure driven by the spread of the Gamma variant throughout the country.
The most lethal months of the pandemic were March, April and May. States and municipalities have imposed greater restrictive measures to try to contain the advance of the virus and reduce the number of victims.
According to the Monthly Survey of Services (PMS), carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the economic movement of tourist activity in Brazil grew by 18.2 % last May, mainly driven by the recovery of air transport.
Despite the health and economic crisis, Braztoa says that the rollout of vaccination and promotions announced were essential to boost tourism in Brazil during this period. The research shows that, between January and June this year, 22% of operators have billed more or the same compared to the pre-pandemic period.
In June, the study indicates that 26% of operators did not make any boardings and only 25% reached at least half of the historical average of boardings for this month.
Braztoa says that the national destinations with the highest demand are Porto de Galinhas, Gramado, Praia do Forte / Salvador, Maceió, Porto Seguro and Rio de Janeiro.
Internationally speaking, Central America and the Caribbean are at the top of sales.
According to the association of tour operators, itineraries that include sun and beach, luxury and wellness are among the preferred ones by travelers, who are looking for “a greater connection to nature, local communities and self-knowledge”.
30% of companies in the sector expect average revenues to recover in the first half of 2022, while 22% of operators are more optimistic and expect to return to pre-pandemic records as early as the second half of 2021. For 19% of companies, the normalization of turnover is not expected until 2023.