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Driven by Street Parties, São Paulo Enters the Carnival Route and Attracts People From all Over
02/10/2016 - 08h59
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ROBERTO DE OLIVEIRA
FROM SÃO PAULO
The carnival in South America´s largest metropolis entered the route of tourists. "Before, everybody stayed away, including the locals. Now, people want to come here", says Verônica Alencar, 32, a business manager from Belém.
Around 2 million people visited São Paulo´s carnival, according to the municipality. Of those people, 2% are expected to be tourists - or 40,000. And 64% of the total joined Sao Paulo´s street parties, or "blocos", for the first time.
Marcus Leoni/Folhapress | ||
Around 2 million people visited São Paulo´s carnival, according to the municipality. |
The official number of visitors may seem low compared to the total number of revelers in the street parties, but when you look back, success is more than clear.
"You know Paulista avenue packed during the Gay Pride Parade? Street carnival is an extension of it", says Lilian Flait, 35, a designer from Bauru (SP).
A good part of this group is hosted in friends' homes, but, facing the largest street carnival in its history, hotels and hostels had their share. The Sampa Hostel's occupancy rate was 85%, a 10% increase compared to the last carnival. It doesn´t seem much, carnival, before, was a period of low occupancy.
Hotels also celebrate the record, like the Holiday Inn Parque Anhembi. Benefiting from its location, close to the Sambódromo, its occupancy rate was 95%, according to manager Flávio Andrade, 58. He credits part of the rise to the street party boom. "In 2017, this phenomenon will enhance the hotel trade even more."
The president of Abih-SP (hotel association), Bruno Hideo Omori, 38, follows along. He says the sector is already working with a growth forecast of 15% for next year - with or without crisis
Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE