Even after the World Cup and the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is still in demand. The beachfront city is the most-searched destination by Brazilian travelers for New Year's Eve accommodations, according to the Kayak travel planning website.
The city, which Kayak ranked third in searches last year, took the lead and surpassed traditional destinations such as Miami (6th) and Orlando (11th) in the U.S., which led the ranking in late-2017.
Other Brazilian cities also gained ground on the list, such as Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife and even São Paulo. International destinations such as Paris, New York and Santiago, which were highly ranked last year, do not even appear on this year’s list for NYE.
According to the website, the rise of the dollar was one of the main reasons for the prominence achieved by the national destinations, since visiting destinations in North America and Europe became a lot more expensive. In addition, the excess number of extended holidays made Brazilians choose shorter trips.
According to the Brazilian Hotel Industry Association, hotel occupancy throughout the country might reach as high as 85 percent on New Year’s Eve. In more popular Brazilian areas such as Rio de Janeiro, Balneário Camboriú and Florianópolis, occupancy is already higher than 90 percent.
During the first half of December, the average occupancy rate in Rio reached 85 percent, higher than in 2017. The highest demand is focused in the Flamengo neighborhood areas at 91 percent, followed by Ipanema and Leblon, both at 89 percent. Barra da Tijuca has 87 percent reserved rooms and, for the first time, the city's demand is higher than Copacabana’s, with 85 percent of rooms sold to date.