A new survey-based report shows that 75 percent of Brazilians want to take advantage of this year’s 10 major holidays and do some travel. One reason for the higher-than-usual desire to travel is due to the country’s holiday calendar. All nine official national holidays (plus Carnaval) fall on weekends or on Tuesdays or Thursdays The net effect is that all eight remaining holidays (Jan. 1 is past) will mean three-or-four-day holiday periods. Carnaval, though regarded as a de facto holiday period, is not officially designated as such.
The 75 percent figure is based on a survey conducted by Booking.com among 19,000 travelers from 26 countries. In addition to the 75 percent who want to take advantage this year’s extended holidays, 72 percent of Brazilians said that they want to make more trips in this year than in 2017. More than two-thirds of the total (67 percent) intend to go to more places on weekends.
The short trips, will be more common this year, as four holidays will fall on a Friday – Passion of Christ or Good Friday (March 30), Independence of Brazil (September 7), Our Lady Aparecida (October12) and All Souls Day (November 2).
- The survey also indicated that:
- Seven out of ten Brazilians (71 percent) want to do as many activities as possible when visiting a new place.
- Two-thirds (67percent) of Brazilians prefer to spend money on an experience that includes material goods such as outlet shopping and souvenirs.
- More than half (55 percent) want speed and seeks to plan their activities by cell phone while they travel. (This, according to Booking.com, an online travel agency, would, in theory, rule out contact with a traditional travel agent.)
- Thirty-four percent of travelers want to stay in a house instead of a hotel.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents want to visit a destination that none of their friends have gone before.
While a Miracle is not Required … Many U.S. travel suppliers are hoping for a break in a three year run (2015, 2016 and 2017) in which travel to the U.S. by Brazilians has declined, year-over-year: down 2 percent n 2015, 24 percent in 2016 and 12.5 percent for the first seven months of 2017 (the data are the latest available for the year). Moreover, in its 2018 Market Outlook, INBOUND has forecast “at best, no change” from 2017.*
One will notice that four of the holidays listed above are religious or Roman Catholic in nature. This is due primarily to the fact that, while its numbers have diminished since the turn of the century, the
Catholic Church is still the largest denomination, with well over half of the nation’s 210 million people identifying as such.
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* To see a copy of INBOUND’s 2018 Market Outlook, visit:
https://www.inboundreport.com/2017/12/19/inbounds-market-outlook-for-2018/
