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Brazil dancing to a new beat

PHOTO: MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises deploying four ships, including MSC Seaview, in Brazil next season
The ex-Brazilian market is expected to finish more than 15% up on last year after seven consecutive seasons of passenger decline, and indications are that the 2018/19 season will continue on an upward trajectory.

As the current southern hemisphere season – November to early April – draws to a close, CLIA Brasil has revealed that an occupancy rate of around 94% on 439,700 berths, has delivered around 412,000 passengers which is more than 15% higher than the previous, 2016/17 season.

According to Marco Ferraz, president of CLIA Brasil, next season the number of berths will rise to 532,000 as five of the seven ships being deployed will be larger than those sailing in 2017/18.

Ships set to deploy in Brazil in 2018/19 so far are MSC Fantasia, MSC Seaview, MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, Costa Favolosa, Costa Fascinosa and Sovereign, chartered by Brazilian tour operator CVC from Pullmantur Cruceros.

The same occupancy rate as this season will produce just over 500,000 passengers for 2018/19 which would be a 21.4% increase, he noted.

‘A mixture of good macro-economic factors and unemployment going down means that confidence is returning to the Brazilian consumer,’ remarked Ferraz, ‘and with more people in regular, well-paid jobs all with 30 days of vacation per year (the minimum by law), we are seeing a welcome return to cruise shipping numbers in Brazil.’

The CLIA Brasil executive added that a number of new ports of call – including Florianopolis, Balneario Camboriu, Cabo Frio and Ubatuba – plus the Brazilian payment system of ‘parcelas’ of 10 to 12 installments spread throughout the year, was also helping boost sales.

‘Adding new ports of call and bringing in new ships each year keeps Brazilian cruisers interested and the parcelas system shows just what good value an ex-Brazil cruise is for a holiday,’ added Ferraz.

These figures are still way below the 805,000 passengers who cruised in the halcyon days of the 2011/12 season but they demonstrate that the gloomy days are now over for the Brazilian cruise industry and the key seasonal players in the southern hemisphere are looking to expand their offerings rather than just hold the line.

In the 2012 season 20 cruise vessels operated up and down Brazil’s 7,500-km coastline, while during the current season there have been just seven but five will be larger for the next season, report the cruise operators.

MSC Seaview, with 5,429 passengers, will be the largest cruise vessel to call in Brazil and two other vessels larger than last year's will also bring the number of berths up to CLIA Brasil’s forecast of 532,000 berths in total.

‘We understand that CVC may bring in one more, small cruise ship under a charter arrangement, but it might be a bit late now given we are in March and many berths are sold by now for next season,’ Ferraz said. ‘But maybe for the season after that they will add another.’