Brazil’s government has resumed the activities of the concession program to privatize its national parks. The initiative is aimed at developing regions that possess enormous tourist potential, but are lacking infrastructure. Among them are the national parks and forests, demarcated to guarantee the preservation of biomes and species and can also be explored sustainably.
The Iguaçu National Park is the most successful example of a Brazilian National Park concession. Managed by a concessionaire since 1999, with one of the most significant number of visitors in the country, Iguaçu has been a catalyst for fostering the development of the local tourism market, and generating green jobs and income. The objective of the authorities is to repeat the success of the Iguaçu model at other parks. Thus, other sites can receive relevant investments and be managed sustainably, as in the case of the national parks of Lençóis Maranhenses (Maranhão) and Jericoacoara (Ceará)—both complexes of dunes and lakes located in the northeast of the country—besides the Canela National Forest in Rio Grande do Sul, among others.
As per a study conducted by Brazil's Ministry of Tourism, there are 334 Conservation Units (CUs) distributed in all 26 Brazilian states and the Federal District, totaling about nine percent of the national territory and two percent of the coastal marine biome. The CUs are classified into these categories: National Park; National Forest; Environmental Protection Area; Extractive Reserve; Area of Relevant Ecological Interest; Ecological Station; Natural Monument; Sustainable Development Reserve; Biological Reserve; and Wildlife Refuge.
Note: The concession of services for public use in national parks is an instrument provided for by Brazilian law. The difference between privatization (when a private entity acquires public ownership) and concession is that the private sector signs a contract for the temporary provision of support of services to visitors in conservation units, such as admission control, ticket sales, F&B services, gift shops, sports activities, parking and environmental protection services, among others. The ownership and management of parks remain under the control of public authorities, and environmental rules continue to apply in their entirety.
A study by the Semei Institute, in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group, pointed out that the tourist potential of national parks can generate up to one million jobs for the country. In addition to jobs, the excellent use of Brazilian natural resources can inject 44 billion Brazilian real (approximately $7.78 billion) into the economy and increase the number of visitors received by up to four times the numbers seen in 2019, reaching 56 million people.
The concession for the Iguaçu National Park—which extends on the border with Argentina—will be renewed this year. According to the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, visitors spent around 2.4 million Brazilian real in municipalities that provide access to forests and parks. These expenditures strengthen the economy, the national GDP, and it is estimated that they generate 90 thousand jobs, directly and indirectly.
Earlier this year, auctions were successfully held for the concession of the national parks of Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral, in addition to the national forests of Canela and São Francisco de Paula, located on the border between the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. The regulation for the concession of management of activities in Brazil’s national parks has been in place since the 1990s. The concession plan, however, was expanded in 2019 when the bidding formats to carry out the concessions were streamlined.
As part of the new concession model, the concessionaire is responsible for the modernization, revitalization, operation and maintenance of parks, in addition to tourist support services such as parking, food and security. With this initiative, environmental agencies can focus on their primary mission, which is to protect the environment.
With the restart of international flights, airlines plan to expand the number of flights to Brazil—with more flights to be scheduled than in the pre-pandemic phase. For instance, American Airlines is preparing to maintain its position as the leading U.S. airline to and from Brazil. The airline recently announced an expansion in its services: in February, it will start a second daily flight from its Latin American hub in Miami (MIA) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG), just in time for the Carnival. The airline will also operate a third daily flight between MIA and São Paulo (GRU) and another flight between DFW and GRU. At the beginning of next year, its schedule will have over 30 percent more flights to Brazil, compared to 2019 levels.
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