Brazilian tourism registered a growth of 1.9% in 2018 compared to the previous year, according to the Tourism Activity Index (IAT), prepared by the São Paulo State Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (FecomercioSP). In December, the indicator also showed an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period in 2017.
The value of the IAT represents the sum of the operational revenues of activities characteristic of tourism and is developed through a statistical model based on data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), which revealed a growth in passenger boarding on Brazilian airlines.
According to the Entity, after the events that negatively influenced the economy in 2018 – such as the truck drivers’ strike and uncertainty regarding electoral issues – the trend is for the indicator to continue showing growth in 2019, following other indices measured by the Federation, such as the Consumer Confidence Index (ICC) and the Family Consumption Intent Index (ICF), which indicated increases in the last month of the previous year. This demonstrates that families are more confident not only regarding commerce but also services.
For the president of the Tourism Council of FecomercioSP, Mariana Aldrigui, the IAT provides some important information for the sector. The first is the use of reliable data, produced and reviewed over time by agencies such as the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), which differentiates it from many other data on Brazilian tourism.
Moreover, the indicator allows us to “perceive the sector’s performance over the last 12 years and see the important moments of tourism activity, as well as contrast the sector’s performance with other economic activities important for the country’s development. Naturally, the resumption of economic growth is an expectation for the volume of travel to increase and for the activity to experience greater growth throughout 2019,” adds Mariana.
Source: Fecomercio Press, imprensa@fecomercio.net.br