See tourists’ favorite cities during the summer in SC

Santa Catarina received 2.9 million tourists in the summer season, between December 2023 and March 2024. The number exceeded the visitor estimate calculated by the State Government by 100 thousand people. The balance with the data was presented on Monday (1st) and also provides information related to the areas of health, public safety and economy during the same period.

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On New Year’s Eve, Balneário Camboriú received more than 1 million people and threw a party considered the biggest in history. On the date, Florianópolis also offered two stages with shows for 400 thousand spectators.

In addition to them, Bombinhas brought together 500 thousand visitors and São Francisco do Sul brought together 250 thousand, including residents and tourists. Next come Laguna (150 thousand people) and Blumenau (62 thousand people), which also held major events celebrating the arrival of 2024.

Carnival Block in Laguna (Photo: Eduardo Prestes, NSC TV)

Sepultura Beach, in Bombinhas (Patrick Rodrigues, NSC Total)

Florianópolis also reached its best level this summer (Photo: Tiago Ghizoni, Arquivo, DC)

Port of São Francisco do Sul (Photo: Disclosure)

Balneário Camboriú (Photo: Patrick Rodrigues, NSC Total)

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Movement at airports and highways

Every summer, the traffic at the state’s airports was intense. Between December 1, 2023 and February 29 of this year, the Florianópolis terminal received more than 1.2 million passengers on more than 8,600 domestic and international flights. A projection of the same period at the Joinville and Navegantes terminals shows a flow of 464 thousand passengers.

Still according to government data, Carnival was a special case: between February 9th and 14th, more than 38 thousand people arrived in the Santa Catarina Capital.

Many people also took advantage of the season by traveling on the highways. The stretch between Passos de Torres and Paulo Lopes recorded the passage of 5 million vehicles in January alone. During the Carnival period, between February 9th and 14th, the flow was 1 million vehicles.

Bombinhas also had considerable movement throughout the period. Between November 15, 2023 and February 15 of this year, 525 thousand vehicles entered the city, including national and foreign visitors.

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Cruises also boosted SC’s economy

Maritime cruises also impacted the State’s economy by bringing 12 ships to the ports of Balneário Camboriú, Itajaí and Porto Belo, with considerable increases in the number of beds and stops available: 370 thousand people were on board. The number represents an increase of almost 62% compared to the previous season.

The impacts for cities are very positive. The average economic gain generated by each visitor arriving by ship in the cities of stopover (BC and Porto Belo) is R$639.37 and R$813.56 in the cities of embarkation and disembarkation (Itajaí).

Numbers for the 2023/2024 season

Balneário Camboriú – 5 ships – 52 calls – 191,870 beds offered – 92% increase in calls and 81% increase in bed supply;
Itajaí – 4 ships – 36 calls – 115,697 beds offered – 56% increase in calls and 62% increase in bed supply;
Porto Belo – 3 Ships – 16 calls – 63,394 beds offered – 33% increase in calls and 24% increase.

Regional festivities

Those who visited Santa Catarina were also able to attend regional festivals, such as the Apple Harvest, in Fraiburgo. The event has already received more than 20 thousand people during the season and 30 thousand tourists are expected. Thus, annual growth was 20%.

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In February, the highlight was Carnival. The estimate is that 1.5 million revelers enjoyed the festivities in Florianópolis, between the beginning of the month and Ash Wednesday.

In Laguna, the return of street Carnival attracted 250,000 revelers and generated 100% occupancy in hotels.

According to a government survey, all of this resulted in more than R$243 million in tax collection on the circulation of goods and services (ICMS) linked to tourism between December 2023 and February 2024.

According to the Santa Catarina Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (Fecomércio SC), tourists spent more this season, jumping from R$4,937 in 2023 to R$6,305 in 2024.