A greater movement of tourists who go out to enjoy the carnival will have an impact on the hotel sector. According to an EMBRATUR survey of market sources, the average occupancy level of capitals in the Northeast such as Salvador, Fortaleza, Alagoas, Olinda, Recife and Joao Pessoa is 87 percent. Rio de Janeiro, iconic capital of the Brazilian carnival, is nearing full capacity. The National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), the Tourism sector must generate income of more than 1,600 million dollars, an amount that would be the second largest in the last 11 years, only surpassed by that registered in the Carnival of 2020, the last one before the pandemic.
"Brazil is experiencing a new moment and Carnival has to be a symbol of that change. Joy, fraternization, respect. This is what our country has to show the world," said the president of EMBRATUR, Marcelo Freixo.
"The return of carnival this year will have a great impact on our economy, attracting millions of Brazilians and foreigners to the country's festivities. This only confirms the strength of tourism, as an economic chain capable of creating jobs and generating income for the population, in addition to contributing to the appreciation of national culture", said the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneiro.
RIO DE JANEIRO
The official motto of the most emblematic carnival in Brazil will be a tribute to democracy, a few weeks after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the serious disturbances that activists in favor of former president Jair Bolsonaro caused at the headquarters of the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, on January 8 in Brasilia.
"Let's celebrate our democracy during this carnival. We will distribute these banners and pennants in all the comparsas and samba schools to make it clear how much Cariocas value democracy! Carnival of Democracy 2023!", posted the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, on their social networks to announce what will be the motto of all the posters for the first post-pandemic carnival. The entire city is identified with posters that say "Carnaval da democracia: deu samba (in Spanish 'Carnival of democracy: won the samba´).” The city hopes to attract five million participants between the blocos and the parade at the Marqués de Sapucaí Sambadrome.
SAVIOR
From February 16 to Tuesday 21, King Momo officially takes possession of the keys to Salvador, although the pre-carnival celebrations began at the end of January in a city whose carnival culture stands out for its cultural and religious syncretism. The Afro influence is represented by groups such as the Ilê Aiyê bloco in the streets of the Liberdade neighborhood, the Olodum drums, or the Filhos de Gandhy troupe, among others. Unlike other capitals such as Rio or São Paulo, in Salvador there were no unofficial carnivals in 2021 and 2022, so this year the expectation is intense partying and crowded streets. The local government announced the opening of new free-access carnival troupes. "We return to the essence of Carnival and we will have 80 electric trios without strings in 2023,
RECIFE AND OLINDA (Pernambuco)
The festival will have as its emblem the traditional -and massive- parade of the “Galo da Madrugada” block, in Recife, where hotel occupancy already exceeds 90% of total capacity. The parade of the giant rooster (whose “dressing room” back to activity is an enigma, since it changes every year) is scheduled to start early on Saturday the 18th, with the end of the tour scheduled for six in the afternoon and with forecast to summon up to two million people during their journey through the bridges of the capital. On the eve, the night of February 17, the carnival will be inaugurated with a show by Caetano Veloso in Marco Zero square, one of the central poles of the capital of Pernambuco, together with great artists such as Geraldo Azevedo, Alceu Valença, Fafá de Belém, Chico Cesar, Duda Beat and Maestro Forró.
SAINT PAUL
Despite not being known for its carnival tradition, the largest city in Brazil makes up for it with the most active nightlife in the country and a list of more than 500 comparsas scheduled throughout the capital between February 11 and 22: the list It includes Afro, LGBT, children's blocos, with live music (without electric trios, a kind of unplugged carnival) and traditional ones with sound trucks. The traditional bloco Académicos do Baixo Augusta (which concentrates on Rua da Consolaçao and attracts hundreds of thousands of people), this year will parade with the Bahian group Olodum and pay homage to the singer Gal Costa, who died at the end of last year. The paulistanas school carnival will take place on the weekend of 17 and 18 at the Anhembí sambadrome, with 14 groups competing for the biggest prize.
FIGURES 2022
Brazil received 3,630,031 international tourists in 2022, of which 28.4% came from Argentina. The state that received the most international tourists in 2022 was São Paulo, with 1,505,129 travelers, followed by Rio de Janeiro (652,962) and Paraná (522,832), with 67% of arrivals by air and 29% by land. The month with the most arrivals of foreigners in Brazil was December, with 529,038 entries through border posts. The top 10 issuers of international tourists to Brazil in 2022 were:
1) Argentina - 1,032,762
2) United States - 441,007
3) Paraguay - 308,234
4) Chile - 202,470
5) Uruguay - 180,064
6) Portugal - 149,747
7) France - 130,910
8) Germany - 120,670
9) Bolivia - 90,694
10) United Kingdom - 87,909