Today we bring you an interesting article published yesterday (10/06/2021) on the blog of the newspaper O Globo written by Cristiano Beraldo, Municipal Secretary of Tourism of Rio de Janeiro.
It is worth reading!
We are left with tourism
06/10/2021 • 18:03
By Cristiano Beraldo
Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro – source Wikipedia
Rio de Janeiro was the country's political, economic and cultural protagonist for almost four centuries. However, from the 1990s onwards, the city began to feel more deeply the effects of the move of the nucleus of public power to Brasília and the gradual displacement of relevant sectors of the private sector to São Paulo.
There was, however, a glimmer of hope in the 2000s and 2010s, when the city experienced a period of great excitement with a succession of major events. We went from the Pan American Games to the Olympics, passing through hundreds of others, of different dimensions. But, unfortunately, in the post-Olympics period we experienced the perfect storm, combining poor management and lack of investment. As a result, much of the legacy of the times of prosperity was not consolidated in a structural change in the life of the city and the people of Rio.
What is up to us now is to use this experience to reflect deeply on Rio's vocation and what paths we need to take to replace ourselves as protagonists on the national and international scene. The clearest and most intuitive answer is tourism, but it is essential to understand what that actually means. Data from the Central Bank indicate that in 2019 Brazilians spent US$ 17.5 billion abroad, while foreign tourists spent around US$ 5 billion in Brazil alone. These numbers reveal how much we have to grow if we decide to truly enter the international game of tourist destinations, where Rio is the great national asset.
Modern tourism is done by transforming points of interest into “products”, so that we can sell them more efficiently. Rio has countless tourist products, and the action of the municipal Tourism Secretariat (Setur.Rio) has been to develop a plan that includes not only their promotion, but also the preparation of the workforce, the engagement of the population, the cleaning and organization of visiting areas, the feeling of security, communication and the recovery of forgotten treasures throughout the city.
NS Carmo Church – source – Wikipedia
From a historical point of view, for example, we have the remains of Pedro Álvares Cabral in the Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo. Across the street, in the Paço Imperial, is the window from where Dom Pedro I gave the speech that became known as “Dia do Fico”, the first step towards our Independence. Next door, in Arco do Teles, is the house where Carmen Miranda lived. Walking a few blocks, on Avenida Passos, is the place where Ensign Tiradentes was hanged. Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral is the rich Museum of Sacred Art. All of this is available to Brazilians and foreigners, but still almost anonymously.
Paço Imperial in Rio de Janeiro – source- Rio e Learn
There were US$ 8.8 trillion moved by travel and tourism in 2018, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, and there is no doubt that Rio is fully capable of once again occupying a place of global relevance in this segment, attracting a generous portion of these resources. With so much natural, historical, cultural, sporting, contemplation and entertainment potential, Setur.Rio's role is to indicate the ways to transform the city's tourism into a great weapon for rescuing self-esteem, economic growth, job creation, increasing income and promoting entrepreneurship.
*Municipal Secretary of Tourism of Rio de Janeiro
