Rio expects 2.7 mln tourists in New Year holiday

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Rio de Janeiro's tourism sector is expected to start 2018 with good figures, with 2.7 million tourists arriving to spend the New Year holiday in the city.

The New Year holiday is the most crowded season for the city. The city's tourism authorities expected the tourists to bring 2 billion reals (604 million U.S. dollars) to the city, but foresaw about 80 percent of them will be Brazilians.

So far, the occupation rate of hotels in the second largest city of Brazil has already been 80 percent, up from 70 percent in the same period last year.

According to local news website G1, good figures have been registered in both the cheap and expensive accommodation options, as the city offers both hostels with prices below 100 U.S. dollars a night and luxury hotels with daily rates surpassing 5,000 U.S. dollars.

Rio de Janeiro traditionally hosts the most spectacular New Year events in Brazil. This year, there will be eight stages spread over the city's beaches to present all sorts of music concerts.

The fireworks show is expected to last 17 minutes, five minutes more than those in 2016. Enditem