Scores of Tourists Expected to Attend Brazil´s Carnival

The city of Rio de Janeiro will welcome as many as 770,000 local and foreign tourists for the upcoming carnival festivities, the Hotel Industry Association of Brazil (HIAB) informed this week.

HIAB Deputy Chairman Angelo Vivacqua explained the number of local visitors could vary dramatically because lots of people usually make last-minute reservations.

Hotels in lovely Copacabana Beach have already booked 78 percent of its rooms for the Rio Carnival, while establishments in nearby neighborhoods are confirming a 71.6 average occupancy.

Mr. Vivacqua also noted as many as 150,000 foreign trippers are excepted to stay in hotels for the big annual party, in addition to 10,000 tourists that are scheduled to arrive in Rio aboard cruise liners.

Officials from the city that´s home to the world´s best-known carnival festivity are expecting to see 3 million travelers coming in this year and have already estimated over $1 billion worth of profits.

Only for the weeklong carnival in Rio, that´s scheduled for early February, as many as 540,000 foreign visitors could come to the city and fork over up to $270 million to buy goods and services, HIAB officials believe.