November 21, 2021

19:11

Priscilla Peixoto – from Cenarium Magazine*

MANAUS – The cruise season in Amazonas, whose segment was one of the most affected with the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, returns on January 20, 2022 and goes until April 20 of the same year. According to the Municipal Foundation of Culture, Tourism and Events (ManausCult) of Manaus, 11 ships are expected in the Amazon capital with 10 thousand American and European tourists on board, which should inject the equivalent of R$ 11 million in the local economy.

“In the beginning, we had a forecast of 24 ships, but, because of all the problems triggered by Covid-19, we had a considerable reduction. But still, with all the difficulties, the arrival of these 11 ships will be a short season, but it does not fail to register the interest of tourists in the city of Manaus”, says the director of Tourism ManausCult, Oreni Braga.

The professional points out that a cruise season not only injects resources with the average spending of tourists, but with the supply [of ships] with fuel, food, water and a whole chain of services mobilized.

“That brings us a good return for the city. It’s the boats, it’s local operators, tour guides, operators in the communities, cultural presentations, the purchase of handicrafts, the consumption in the restaurants. And, just to give you an idea, when Manaus receives 20 to 25 ships, an average of R$45 million is injected into the local economy during the six-month season”, says the director.

Programming and protocol

According to Oreni Braga, most of the transatlantic ships are flying the American, English and French flags. For the arrival of tourists, a program includes the traditional reception of visitors at the port of Manaus and an integrated tour around the Historical Center of the city, the most popular place for those who arrive in the capital.

“This is the beginning of a revamp. Manaus has everything to be not only one more Brazilian tourism destination, but the capital of the Amazon and of world tourism”, she highlights.

For the 2022 tourist season, the Tourism director of ManausCult explains that all safety protocols to avoid contamination by Covid-19 will be obeyed. Each embarked person has to be properly vaccinated and goes through a whole orientation upon arrival in the city by the professionals of the control bodies.

“The protocol is universal, the person already leaves their country with a recommendation, following the rules of biosecurity and vaccinated. When they land here, we have the Anvisa team, the Federal Police, the Internal Revenue Service, and we have a whole information process in the Universal Pavilion Service Centers, and we emphasize the continuous use of masks, the use of alcohol gel, and we advise people to keep their distance so that they are not transmitted to us and also not contaminated”, she explains.

Latest data

According to the director of tourism in the years 2018/2019 were 20 ships with 17 thousand tourists and in the 2019/2020 season were 14 ships and 20 thousand tourists who moved the tourist segment of the city. Oreni points out that the number of visitors in the state varies with each season, each model and capacity of the ships.