Brazil, renowned for hosting the world’s most iconic Carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, is projected to generate over USD $2 billion in revenue throughout this year’s festive season.
Earlier this month, the Brazilian National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) estimated that this year’s nationwide Carnival celebrations would generate R$12.03 billion (approximately USD $2.08 billion).
Bars and restaurants are expected to make the biggest contribution to the economy during the annual festive period, with a projected turnover of R$5.4 billion ($USD 935.44 million), followed by transportation, which is predicted to generate R$3.31 billion ($USD 573.39 million). In third place is predicted to be accommodation, expected to contribute $R1.28 billion ($USD 221.73 million). Together, these three sectors are expected to represent 83% of the revenue generated by tourism during the Carnival period, which will last officially from Friday, February 28 until Saturday, March 8.
The CNC expects that over 868,400 tourists will travel from abroad to enjoy Brazil’s Carnival celebrations, surpassing last year’s figure of 833,300.
The country-wide celebrations are predicted to generate a high number of temporary job opportunities. The CNC expects approximately 32,600 jobs to be created during the Carnival period, with 22,850 of these pertaining to the bar and restaurant industry. It is predicted that 4,060 of these new jobs will be in the accommodation sector, while 3,310 will be related to transportation.
While the overall number of employment vacancies is expected to rise, the predicted number of people offered full time jobs after working during the Carnival period is expected to fall compared to previous years.
In 2021 and 2022, approximately 24% of workers were hired for full-time roles following Carnival; this was largely due to the sector’s need to replace vacancies that had been eliminated during the pandemic. In 2023, this percentage dropped to 11%, and to 9% in 2024. In 2025, it is expected to be 7%.
In December, Brazil recorded its lowest unemployment rate since records began in 2012, with just 6.1% of the population (approximately 6.8 million Brazilians) looking for work.
Alexandre Sampaio, the director of CNC and the coordinator responsible for the country’s Business Council for Tourism and Hospitality (Cetur) stated: “Carnival plays a very important role in generating temporary jobs, especially in locations that attract a large volume of visitors. These jobs are essential for boosting the regional economy and meeting the high seasonal demand.”
It is also expected that 87% of hotel rooms in Rio de Janeiro will be occupied, with this figure likely to be around the 73% mark in São Paulo. Several other countries are expected to be “operating at maximum capacity” according to local authorities.
Fabio Bentes, the CNC economist who was responsible for the report containing the estimations, said: “The concentration of revenue in sectors such as food, transport and accommodation shows how Carnival directly boosts the local economy and favors the strengthening of the services sector.”
The news comes shortly after the Brazilian Association for Supermarkets revealed at the end of January that the average price of a basket of 12 groceries increased by 14.2% between December 2023 and 2024, with coffee increasing by nearly 40%, soybean oil by nearly 30%, and beef by over 25%.
However, President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva said at the start of this month that the Brazilian economy “is living its best moment,” saying that inflation was “totally under control.” He added: “There is no reason for people to have any doubt that Brazil will continue to grow, will continue to generate jobs, will continue to increase salaries and people will live better lives.”
Featured image credit:
Image: Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, 2017
Photographer: Terry George
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/30974608@N02/33052935440
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
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