The Hotel Association wants to use ships for accommodations in 2014
Alternative will demand investments to improve the harbor infrastructure
The Executive-Director of the Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry (Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Hotéis – ABIH ), Cesar Gonçalves, has proposed the use of ships which cruise in the Brazilian Coast as an alternative for the tourist accommodations during the 2014 Soccer World Cup. The proposal was presented on Thursday (20) during public hearing in the Permanent Subcommittees of Inspection of Public Expenditures with the 2014 Soccer World Cup.
Gonçalves said that the hotel business needs caution to avoid a growth of the hotel industry that cannot back itself after the World Cup. Through the Association research, there are today 300 thousand apartments in the 12 Headquarter Cities.
The risk, according to Cesar Gonçalves, is to stimulate the growth of the hotel network, as already came about in cities such as São Paulo, Curitiba, and Rio de Janeiro, which after the event have a low occupancy rate. “The hotels work with loss and this cause the sector scrapping. Then, our purpose is to well measure the conditions not only for the World Cup, but also for the real post-World Cup need, so that we do not have bankrupting hotels when the event is over.”
Investment in Infrastructure
The president of the Brazilian Association of Representatives of Offshore Companies, Ricardo Amaral, informed that, on the next cruise season, e.g. 907,167 beds will be offered in 18 ships between October and May. He warns, however, that the use of ships as an accommodation alternative will demand investment to improve the harbor infrastructure.
He reminds that, from the 40 country harbors, only six back infrastructure for receiving big vessels. It will be necessary, according to Amaral, improvement to get passengers, e.g. ramp, ladders and arrivals and departures hall facility. “In other countries the harbors have structures similar to airports”, argued.
Amaral still stated that the harbor taxes of Brazil are among the highest worldwide. The cruise solution also does not solve the Headquarter Cities’ problem as Brasília, Belo Horizonte and Cuiabá, which are far from harbors.
The chairman of the Confederação Nacional do Turismo (Brazilian National Tourism Confederation), Nelson de Abreu Pinto, said, however, that the entity works to prepare not only the 12 game headquarters, but also the 88 cities located around such capital cities which can accept tourists. He hopes that the Cup helps to further the tourism in Brazil. The Confederation has identified 3,600 municipalities with touristic appeal that will be able to get visitors during the Cup games. The purpose is to encourage the tourists to travel around Brazil during game breaks.
Aims
The Deputy Edinho Bez (PMDB-SC) highlighted the importance of fixing aims and dates for the necessary works hereafter. “If we do not have planning and good proposals, things do not further". The advantage, according to the representative, it is because ones already know what must be done and there is enough time to do it.
The Chairman of Supervision and Finances, deputy Silvio Torres (PSDB-SP), said that the aim to the discussions is to make a diagnosis of the problems, and work out a supervision proposal to avoid that the resources made available for the 2014 World Cup be used badly.
Reporting – Geórgia Moraes
Edition – Paulo Cesar Santos
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Edgar Casadei