The tourist activity index grows again in Brazil
The Minister of Tourism affirmed that since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government has adopted several actions to support the sector
The index of tourist activities in the country rose again, after having interrupted, in December 2020, a sequence of seven consecutive increases in the economic movement of the sector. Thus, in January 2021, the index rose 0.7%, mainly driven by the air transport segment, which registered an increase of 11.1%. The data comes from the Monthly Survey of Services (PMS), published this Tuesday (09.03) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
In this way, tourism in Brazil achieves nine consecutive non-negative results (8 positive rates and 1 stable). Between May 2020 and January 2021, the tourism sector advanced 122.8%, narrowing the gap to the levels recorded before the pandemic.
In total, in January of this year, 9 of the 12 cities surveyed showed positive rates, with an emphasis on Rio Grande do Sul (+ 11.4%), Federal District (+ 10.4%) and Rio de Janeiro (+4 ,4%). .
The Minister of Tourism, Gilson Machado Neto, reinforces that, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government has adopted several actions to support the sector. “We work to reduce the negative effects in the sector, protecting both tourists and those who obtain their livelihood from tourism. The Responsible Tourism seal, launched last year, is an example of these initiatives and reinforces our commitment to promote a safe environment that allows the return of activities through the adoption of biosafety protocols throughout the sector ”, he highlights.
Actions already carried out in support of the tourism sector involved initiatives such as Provisional Measure 936, which allowed flexibility in wages and working hours; MP 948, which regulates relations with consumers in the segment; and MP 963, which guaranteed R $ 5 billion for the granting of loans through the General Tourism Fund (Fungetur), among other measures.
In continuity with these actions to support the sector, in November of last year, the Ministry of Tourism launched the Retomada do Turismo movement. It is a national alliance that brings together 32 government institutions, including the private sector, the third sector and System S. The objective is to enable the return of tourist activities in a responsible and safe way.