Rio de Janeiro (EFE) including foreign tourists, and mobilize 1,558 million dollars.
The figures are from the Ministry of Tourism, which expects record numbers in the first full edition of the carnival after the 2021 parties were canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic and those of 2022 were limited to a small number of cities equally for the sanitary restrictions and in which the street troupes, soul and life of the carnival were not allowed.
According to the projections of the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC) cited by the Ministry, the income generated by the carnival throughout Brazil will amount to about 1,558 million dollars, a value 26.9% higher than in 2022 and that, if fulfilled, it will be the second largest in the last 11 years, only surpassed by that of 2020 (1,629 million dollars), before the pandemic.
A little more than half of this income will go to Rio de Janeiro, with 870 million dollars, since its parties are among the most famous in the world and the ones that attract the most Brazilian and foreign tourists each year.
Despite the fact that the festivities fill most Brazilian cities with music and dance, including some small ones like Ouro Preto and Olinda, famous for their attractive carnivals, Rio de Janeiro steals the show for the majesty of its “escolas” of samba.
The biggest attraction of the carioca carnival
The parade of the twelve samba “schools” of the so-called Special Group, a kind of first category among the nearly 100 that will be presented this year, is considered the greatest outdoor show in the world and the main attraction of the Rio carnival.
Each one of these twelve groups, with some 3,500 members including musicians, dancers and prominent figures and with gigantic allegorical floats, parades through the 700-meter sambadrome before 74,000 spectators who have already sold out tickets for the presentations scheduled for Sunday nights and on Monday.
But it is the “blocos” (comparsas), with their colorful free street parades during the five days of carnival, which increasingly attract those interested in having fun at the party and who, dressed up or not and with beer in hand or no, they dance and sing behind their lively bands.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, some 5 million people will dance to the rhythm of the 400 blocos that will parade in Rio de Janeiro this year, a figure three times lower than that enjoyed by the comparsas in Sao Paulo (15 million), although in the largest city in Brazil the vast majority of partygoers will be local.
The carnivals that most tourists dispute with that of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are those of Salvador and Recife, whose massive festivities are enlivened with music of African roots and in which parades of comparsas and electric trios (trucks equipped with sound amplifiers and with a platform for the orchestras) do not give a minute of rest.
Salvador’s carnival was anticipated this year
The festivities in Salvador de Bahía were not long in coming and begin this Thursday with the parades of the electric trios led by Ivete Sangalo and Daniela Mercury, the two most popular “axé” singers in Brazil.
In Recife, the forecast is that the carnival will put some two million people dancing and in Salvador some 800,000, taking into account only Brazilian and foreign tourists.
The Brazilian tourism promotion company Embratur estimates that this year’s carnival throughout the country will have a record number of foreign tourists since, until the beginning of January, 80,000 already had tickets purchased, above the 55,000 who visited the country at parties last year.
Of the tourists with tickets already purchased for the carnival period this year, the majority are from Argentina (16,800), the United States (13,900), Portugal (5,200) and Chile (4,800).
Rio Supremacy
Rio de Janeiro is also the most desired destination for foreigners who want to experience the Brazilian carnival, well ahead of Salvador and Sao Paulo.
According to the hoteliers union, the hotel occupancy rate in Rio de Janeiro for the days of the carnival already reaches 96% and the forecast is that it will be fully booked.
Rio’s international airport expects the arrival of 260,000 people to this city between February 15 and 26, a figure 19% higher than the same period last year.
The number of foreign tourists expected this year in Rio is 85% higher than last year, mostly from Argentina, Chile, the United States, Portugal and France.
