Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Secretariat of Tourism said this Tuesday (27th) the city will receive US$ 449 million (or R$ 1 billion) during the World Cup. The city hall is investing in services and signposting to ensure tourists reach desired destinations without problems. A total of 400,000 foreign tourists and 450,000 visitors from other Brazilian states are expected to come to Rio de Janeiro’s capital.
A total of 17 mobile information booths will be installed in subway stations, BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) stations and at the Maracanã Stadium, adding to the 14 existing ones scattered throughout the city. At these places and tourist attractions, printed material about Rio, such as maps, event information, and the like will be distributed. According to the secretary of Tourism, Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello, Rio de Janeiro is used to holding big events, such as Carnival and New Year’s Eve in Copacabana.
“People who come for Carnival are a completely different group. The people we have here were not planning to come to Brazil. They are planning to go to the event. It is a new group of people, we want to enthrall them and show our best potential,” he said.
During the days Rio will host World Cup matches, 150 information agents will be scattered around Maracanã to show the stadium’s entrances to supporters. Furthermore, 1,500 volunteers may be found in several tourist attractions to supply visitors with information.
The secretary said 3,700 signposts such as stickers, signs, towers and sentinels will be installed all over the city, to show routes for tourists and keep them posted on Maracanã’s game schedules, changes in traffic as well as other pieces of information.
According to Mello, Rio’s tourist attractions such as Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) and the Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar), both in the South side of Rio, are not free from overcrowding.
“We have planned well. We are sure to have long queues, just like we have in the Eiffel Tower [in Paris]. Any large tourist attraction will have queues. What it takes is good organization and tourist information for people to know, so they don’t get lost in lines, not knowing what time they will be able to enter [the tourist attraction],” he added.
The Secretariat of Tourism will offer free guided walking tours to three districts in Rio: Ipanema, Copacabana and downtown. Tourists may register for the “Rio Walking Tour” at information booths and openings are limited to 30 people. The walks will have guides who speak English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Rio de Janeiro will host four national teams: Holland, England, Italy and Brazil. Rio’s capital will also host the International Broadcast Center, Open Media Center (Centro Aberto de Mídia), Referee’s Central (Central de Árbitros) and the headquarters of the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa).
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
