In 2019, Brazilians made 20.9 million trips; in 2020, 13.6 million, and in 2021, 12.3 million. The number of trips dropped by 41% between 2019 and 2021. In 2020, 98% of trips were domestic and last year this percentage was 99.3%. The international travel index dropped from 3.8% in 2019 to 0.7% in 2021.
The National Survey by Household Sample (PNAD) Continuing Tourism 2020-2021, released today (6) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), shows that the proportion of households in which some resident traveled dropped by 21.8%. in 2019, to 13.9% in 2020, and to 12.7% in 2021.
In the analysis of the IBGE, despite tourism having been strongly affected by the covid-19 pandemic with the need for social isolation and the closing of several tourist establishments, the reason for not having money to travel remained the main reason for the fall in travel. .
Research analyst Flávia Vinhaes also highlights that the health crisis, with social distancing measures, the impossibility of taking flights, the fear of contracting the disease or even having been infected by the new coronavirus, was an important factor for the decrease. of national and international travel in the last two years.
The PNAD surveyed, for the first time, spending on tourism. In 2021, total spending on domestic overnight trips totaled BRL 9.8 billion, against BRL 11 billion in 2020. In 2021, the largest expenditures were on trips to São Paulo (BRL 1.8 billion), Bahia ( R$1.1 billion) and Rio de Janeiro (R$1 billion).
One in five trips (or 20.6% of them) went to the state of São Paulo, the most sought after destination. Minas Gerais (11.4%) and Bahia (9.5%) followed.
In about a third (33.1%) of households with income per capita earning four or more minimum wages, did any resident travel in 2021. On the other hand, in only 7.7% of households with income per capita below half the minimum wage, some resident traveled last year.
In households with income per capita below half the minimum wage, 35.1% of personal trips were for health treatment and only 14.3% for leisure. In households with income per capita of four or more minimum wages, 57.5% of the trips were for leisure and only 4.4% for health treatment.
Among leisure reasons, in 2020, 55.6% of trips were in search of sun and beach tourism. In 2021, this percentage was 48.7%. Nature, ecotourism or adventure trips accounted for 20.5% in 2020 and 25.6% in 2021.
About 57.2% of trips in 2021 were by private or company car, 12.5% by bus and 10.2% by plane. Of the total trips in 2021, about 14.6% were professional and 85.4% were personal.
As the main place of accommodation, the house of friends or relatives surpassed the other modalities, representing, in 2021, 42.9% among the alternatives. In second place was the hotel option, resort or flatwith 14.7%, says the IBGE.
