The increase in the cost of travel abroad, due to the impact of a very high tax burden, has added to the holiday urgency that has exploded with greater force after the pandemicThey play in favor of destinations that were fashionable in other times, such as Brazil. Thus, far from the “one to one” that motorized Argentine travelers in the town of Rio de Janeiro in the 1990s, Today it is the alternative chosen by those who have “come down” fromand the dream beaches of the Caribbean or even more exotic destinations, according to the experience of travel agencies.
In the travel services company, they say that until November last year, the three destinations that mainly concentrated the demand for travel in Brazil were Rio de Janeiro, Buzios and Florianópolis. However, between December 15, 2022 and January 15, 2023, demand began to expand to new destinations.
An analysis of sales between those dates revealed this four out of 10 trips abroad were to a city in Brazil. During the same period, there were four cities in Brazil in the top 5 for international hotel bookings: Rio de Janeiro, Praia Do Pipa, Praia Do Forte and Buzios which are still maintained. That was all a last minute phenomenonaccording to the agency that It has already sold out the cheapest travel packages for February to the neighboring country.
“Brazil is perhaps the big surprise of summer 2023. Our expectations of this destination have improved a lot in recent weeks. It has been growing strongly since mid-December, both in flights and travel packages and hotels. Argentines choose their beaches with less anticipation than in other years and demand is still high with March sales. If, in addition, we add everything that was sold in February, already Brazil It is the country that has concentrated the largest number of trips by Argentines”commented Federico Rovida, sales manager of Travel Services.
One factor pushing Christmas shopping at the last minute was the World Cup, which for the first time caught everyone’s attention until 18 December. However, “for those deciding at the last minute, there are still options on flights, hotels and car rentals,” say the agents. Sure, at an approximate value of 20% more than what was offered.
Another reason in favor of the destination is that Brazil It is one of the countries with the least requests to receive foreign tourists. Does not require vaccinations for children under 12 years of age; while the elderly are asked for at least two doses in the vaccination certificate.
From Despegar, another of the leading platforms on the market, they point out that Brazil is always one of the favorite international destinations for Argentines. However, this year the demand has grown much more than expected. For example, tickets to Florianópolis for the first fortnight of January that has just ended, 356% more were sold than in the same period last year, says Paula Cristi, Country Manager of Despegar in Argentina.
Among the explanations, the directive used the increased number of weekly flights and new routes that have been added. For example, Gol inaugurated flights from Córdoba and Rosario to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and added direct flights from Buenos Aires to Natal, Recife, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, Salvador and Maceió. On the other hand, frequencies to Florianópolis and Rio have increased due to the high season. Furthermore, Aerolíneas Argentinas has resumed flights to Florianópolis since the end of December,” he specified.
Demand in Brazil is also growing (since October) for Volalá. According to MagalÍ Álvarez Howlin, marketing manager of that tourism platform, the exit from the pandemic has had an impact and “on the other hand Very low fares have been introduced on flights departing from Foz de Iguazú, to various destinations in Brazil, as well as on some new low-cost airline routes.”
This is also added a question of the exchange rate, and it is much more accessible to travel to Brazil than in other countries where the exchange is in another currency“he points out.
According to Despegar, the ranking of the most sought-after destinations by Argentines who went to Brazil during the first half of January is led by Rio de Janeiro, followed by Florianópolis, São Paulo, Salvador and Recife, in order. how Maceió, Porto Seguro and Curitiba recorded exponential growth compared to the same period of the previous year.
As far as expectations for February are concerned, the top three continue to exist in the first fortnight of the month Rio, Florianopolis and Recife. From that platform, they warn that there are still options for those who decide to travel at the last minute: packages to Rio de Janeiro for $252,700 per person; $395,000 in Florianópolis or $280,000 in Recife.
NS
Source: Clarin
