From an initially promising year for tourism, 2020 turned out a real cold shower for the sector, which is currently in a process of recovery that is slow and difficult to predict.
“In March and April, there was a prospect that the pandemic would end in June. There were very few cases of long-term projections that included new waves ”, says Mariana Aldrigui, a professor in the leisure and tourism course at USP (University of São Paulo).
The severe effect could also be seen in the hotel industry, which reached almost 80% of closed establishments countrywide between March and the first half of June, according to Manoel Linhares, national president of Abih (Associação Brasileira Indústria Hotéis).
“The hotel industry is living on holidays and long weekends. Until we have access to widespread vaccination, the sector will continue to suffer ”, he says.
For specialists and representatives of the area, it is difficult to make forecasts for tourism in 2021 after a year overfilled with fluctuations. But the resumption is linked to the handling of Covid-19 cases with the arrival of the high season period, and with the national immunization schedule, says Mariana Aldrigui.
Translated by Cassy Dias