Impact of Carnival on the Brazilian Economy

It’s summer in Brazil and nothing says summer like Carnaval do Brasil! In Brazil, the year doesn’t really start until Carnival is over. But what are the impacts of this global event? My Little Brasil tells all!

Carnival in Brazil : long preparations required

Carnival isn’t limited to the small timeframe of February 14th to the 17th (in 2015). Preparations start in the end of December and for the samba schools, practice for the parade happens all year round.

Carnival is an event that has a major impact on the Brazilian economy. More than 250 000 seasonal jobs are created during this occasion. It consists not only of dancers, costume designers and float drivers, but also receptionist, servers, chauffeurs etc. In between Christmas and Carnival, the tourism in Brazil is in full force, especially in Rio de Janeiro with New Years Eve on the beach in Copacabana.

Carnival : a springboard for Brazilian tourism

There are around 7 million Brazilians every year who travel to Rio, Salvador or Recife to party. This means more than 7 billion reais are injected into the Brazilian economy during this period. Also, more than one million tourists traveled to Rio and 700 000 to Recife in 2015. Carnival is constantly attracting more foreigners, with only 850 000 who went in 2014 (compared to the 600 000 tourists during the World Cup).

Carnival : a major challenge for the samba schools

Carnival is a major challenge, especially for the samba schools that start preparing months in advance for the parade. In São Paulo it is possible to participate in the rehearsals of the samba school Vai Vai on Sundays. Sometimes the biggest sponsors can even finance the samba parade several million reais.

That’s not all, the samba schools gather around the Liga Independente de Escolas de Samba who recover all revenue related to Carnival, including the sale of tickets to attend the parade in Sambódromo. This can generate several million reais and it’s not all: there are also the music and transmission rights that were sold to Globo and all related products.

Where are you going to spend Carnival this year ?