In 2022, São Luís recorded the highest hotel occupancy rate for the first half of the year in the last 10 years

Traveling to São Luís has been a dream postponed for many people due to the two years of the pandemic. The advance of vaccination promoted by the City Hall and the continuous promotion of the capital of Maranhão is allowing more and more people to come to the city. This is shown by the Hotel Occupancy Rate in the first half of 2022, which recorded an average of 57% for the local chain and surpassed the last 10 years. The highlight of the first half of the year was the month of June, when hotels and inns reached over 70% occupancy.

This data is part of a series of surveys carried out by the Municipal Department of Tourism (Setur), in partnership with the São Luís City Tourism Observatory, which monitors and follows the growth of the tourism sector in São Luís.

"We're on the rise in terms of tourism. And the Eduardo Braide administration has spared no effort to ensure that São Luís receives more and more tourists. Research data shows an increase in the tourist flow and in the average tourist stay, which has a direct impact on the city's financial turnover. As a result, more and more jobs are created in the sectors directly involved in tourism," says the municipal secretary for tourism, Saulo Santos.

According to reports produced by Setur's Marketing Analysis coordination, the averages for the first semester are: 2012 (56%), 2013 (50%), 2014 (50%), 2015 (47%), 2016 (47%), 2017 (50%), 2018 (52%), 2019 (55%), 2020 (31%), 2021 (42%) and 2022 (57%).

Brenda Leite, the coordinator responsible for the surveys, explained that it is possible to say that more than 78% of those staying in the hotels are people from outside the city.

"We always cross-check the tourist flow data collected at the gates to São Luís and compare it with hotel occupancy. The averages are proportional," he said.

The data also points to positive points for the city: 92% of visitors consider their experience in São Luís to be good or excellent, and in relation to average spending, 55% of tourists spend an average of R$ 350.00 per day, and the other 45% spend up to R$ 200.00 per day.

"This financial movement is excellent for São Luís. Last year, more than 46,000 jobs were generated in the tourism sector. With the increase in the number of tourists, the return of commerce and other sectors, the trend is always upwards. And we're working towards that," Saulo concluded.

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