Rio State Tourism Program Reports R$8.86 Billion in 2018

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro a Janeiro (from January to January) Program generated 238,000 jobs, bringing in R$8.86 billion and 12.5 million people to the state in 2018, according to Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Sérgio Sá Leitão.

“These are competitive differentials of Brazil, not only of Rio de Janeiro. All research shows that there are few activities that generate so much income, that generate so much employment, that have such a positive impact in several dimensions,” stated Sá Leitão during the press conference on Thursday to present the results.

“We need to invest in this, we need to invest in culture, in tourism, in an articulated way, because the potential for growth is enormous,” added the minister.

The project, launched in September of 2017 is aimed at boosting Rio de Janeiro state’s economy. Throughout 2018, 94 projects were carried out, in the cultural, sports and corporate areas.

Calculations made by Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) show that each R$1 spent on projects moved R$17.61 in the economy.

The main project, as expected, was Carnival, which impacted the economy by R$3.02 billion, and the participation of 6.5 million people, 1.05 million of whom were tourists.

In second place was the New Year’s Eve project, with the participation of 2.4 million people, 707 thousand tourists, and an economic impact of R$1.94 billion.

“We put ourselves at full disposal to continue the projects. If in the first year it generated all this, imagine from now on. It is more than proven that this (tourism) is our business,” said Riotur President, Marcelo Alves.