Rio enjoys New Year tourism boom

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is enjoying a high demand for hotel rooms for the New Year with an average occupancy rate of over 80 percent, the local hotels association said Tuesday.

According to the Rio Hotel Industry Association, tourists coming for the New Year celebrations have booked about 83 percent of hotel rooms in Rio, up from over 64 percent in the same period last year. In the city's Copacabana district and Leme beach, where the largest celebrations will take place, over 90 percent of hotel rooms have already been booked.

Most of the tourists come from the neighboring states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. Among foreign tourists, Chileans and Argentineans are expected to take the lead.

The New Year holiday is, alongside Carnival, the most lucrative time for the tourism sector in Rio. By launching the largest fireworks show in Brazil, the city hosts a large number of tourists and also receives several cruise ships on New Year's Eve. Enditem