‎Brazil News

In one of the most challenging moments in recent history, caused by the consequences of the pandemic, strengthening ties has never been more necessary. Aware of this, Airbnb seeks to promote the development of national tourism and help in the resumption of this one that is one of the pillars of our economy. One of the ways to produce this impact is through partnerships, which include Brazilian municipalities and states.

 

To help the government gain a deeper understanding of tourism in their region, Airbnb created a system to share local tourism data with city halls and state governments. This communication process between the platform and governments, which is done digitally, includes information on the profile of each market.

 

“Airbnb has established partnerships with hundreds of cities, states, and countries around the world, and the idea is that it can be increasingly collaborative in national and international destinations”, says Daniela Teixeira, senior manager of Institutional and Governmental Relations at Airbnb in Brazil.

 

 

There is no expenditure of financial resources in these partnerships, neither by Airbnb nor by the government, only the sharing of aggregated information that is of great value for identifying trends and traveler behavior, enabling the adoption of more assertive strategies.

 

Daniela Teixeira believes that partnerships provide a better construction of public policies aimed at tourism, through market intelligence, “contributing so that destinations know the tourist profile and evaluate best practices to remain relevant in the tourist route. This becomes increasingly important for these destinations, especially in the post-vaccination context, in which there has been a change in traveler behavior”.

 

Platforms like Airbnb play a potent role in nurturing both communities and individuals. Doing business through the platform can bring people who live in tourist destinations an increase in income or even make vacation rentals their main source of income.

 

To give you an idea, in 2019, Airbnb moved BRL 10.5 billion in Brazil, and this does not only involve accommodation but all expenses that are correlated with tourists.

 

“Currently, as we see the resumption of travel, these partnerships have collaborated so that municipal and state governments can invest in tourism based on data related to the sector”, explains Daniela.

 

benefits and experience

More than accommodations, Airbnb provides something intangible: the experience. Traveling to other locations can go far beyond the trivial. With that in mind, the platform advertises accommodations outside the traditional circuit of each tourist spot, making neighborhoods that were previously “invisible” to be in the range of options when travelers decide on their trip.

 

Generally, hosts on Airbnb give recommendations on local businesses to visit, many of which are located in the same neighborhood as the accommodation. This type of travel recommendation helps guests to experience living like the locals. And it also makes the economies of disadvantaged neighborhoods able to prosper, increasing the financial flow, creating jobs, and encouraging local commerce, which creates a virtuous cycle.

 

Generating wealth: Latin America and the Caribbean

The numbers involving Airbnb in Latin America and the Caribbean are impressive. According to a report produced by Oxford Economics, guests contributed 416,000 jobs and US$ 4.5 billion in salaries, income generated in various points of contact with tourism, such as commerce and local restaurants.

 

In 2021 alone, spending by guests who booked through the platform reached $16.4 billion, which represents about 4.9% of the entire tourism sector in the region. The platform points out that 97% of what is charged by hosts is kept in their communities.

 

It is a resource that further enhances savings: for every US$ 10 spent on accommodation, another US$ 45 is spent during travel, on services such as restaurants and transportation. Given that in 2021 tourism contributed US$ 180 billion to Latin America's GDP, Airbnb is an increasingly important partner for the economic development of the region.

 

And there's more: for every thousand guest check-ins in the region, during one year, 15 jobs are directly supported, in an amount that reaches US$ 158 million