The queue to get on the water rollercoaster that Monday was two hours and ten minutes, shown by the clock placed at the attraction of Thermas dos Laranjais, the largest water park in Olímpia (438 km from São Paulo). And it will take even longer in the coming weeks, as the wait is normally up to four hours during periods of school holidays and long holidays, according to local officials. With its thermal waters, new resorts and entertainment openings that include a wax museum, the tourist sector in Olympia expects to receive up to 750,000 tourists during the summer season, equivalent to more than 13 times its population of 55,000 inhabitants.

Since opening its tourist resort in 2014, the city in the interior of São Paulo has received on average, before the pandemic, around 3 million visitors per year, a volume that is expected to double by 2024 in the "Brazilian Orlando", as the location has been called. In 2021, amid the pandemic, two new resorts opened (Solar das Águas and Hot Beach Suites), which together have a capacity of 8,410 beds and further expanded the already large hotel network in the city, second only to the capital. The flow of tourists at the end of the year should surpass 2019, when 350,000 visitors were registered in December, according to the Municipality of Olímpia. For January, more than 80% of the lodging facilities already had occupancy above 60% in the last week.