The movement of Carnival 2022 in Sapucaí already has a date to happen. According to the Independent League of Samba Schools (Liesa), technical rehearsals should start in the second week of January. The information was confirmed on Monday (1) by the president of Liesa, Jorge Perlingeiro, who says he is confident about the progressive improvement in the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic in the city.
“There is unlikely to be a delay this time. Vaccination has provided the necessary effect. Let’s take the biggest Carnival of all time. The barracks are working at full speed, the samba schools are doing their homework and we at Liesa are working out the other details,” said Perlingeiro.
Also according to the president of the league, almost all tickets for Marquês de Sapucaí have already been sold. There are only a few seats left in the stands. In 2022, the party should take place on February 27th and 28th, Sunday and Monday of Carnival.
According to the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the general expectation is that the mega-event will recover the revenue of R$ 2.2 billion in the economy, lost due to the cancellation of Carnival in 2021.
But despite the positive news for the sector, some travel agencies are still feeling the effects of the pandemic. For Cristina Fritsh, director of the company Carnaval Turismo, specialized in offering packages for the date, the demand will not yet be normalized. In the market for 30 years, offering everything from hotel reservations to tickets for fashion shows at Sapucaí, she says that the demand for packages this year cannot be compared to previous years.
“We serve an average of 1,200 customers, who arrive via ships and planes. In October, there would already be a movement of receptive tourism, that is, people who come from abroad, but it is already November and we do not perceive any interest from this public”, he said. However, Fristh attributes the difference in demand to the pattern of customers arriving in groups, who are often elderly and are still fearful after the pandemic.
The vice president of the Rio Hotels employers union, Jorge Chaves, said that the hotel sector expects an occupancy of more than 90% for Carnival. However, he points out that tourist behavior has changed. Reservations are now made on the eve of events. “At the moment, the reserves are still low, but we project that closer to the date of Carnival, the occupation will increase a lot”, he said.
In general, the total expected audience at Marquês de Sapucaí is estimated at 5 million people during the five days of parades at the Sambódromo, also taking into account the movement of cabins, friezes and bleachers, according to a survey by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), based on the edition of the event in 2019.
Reference: CNN Brasil
