This year the Barranquill Carnivala is celebrated in style, as it commemorates 20 years of having been declared by Unesco as a ‘Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’.
(Read: The Carnival of Barranquilla will boost the local economy).
This party, which starts today with the emblematic ‘Battle of Flowers’ and that goes until Tuesday, February 21 with the ‘Death of Joselito’not only promises a waste of joy, drums and colorful parades, but also projects relevant figures for the capital of the Atlantic.
According to data from the District Tourist Information System, for this carnival seasonthe city expects the arrival of 500,000 visitors, between national and international, with an estimated cost between $1 million and $1.4 million per person. Likewise, it is projected that at least $500,000 million will move during the four days of festivities, an amount that would impact the commerce, gastronomy, hotel, transportation, and entertainment sectors.
“For the immediately previous year, the study of the economic movement of the Carnival of Barranquilla, carried out by Fenalco, the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla and the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce, showed that the Carnival moved around $400,000 million in 2022”, the report detailed.
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The event has also become a season that drives job creation. According to data from the ‘Carnival in Figures’ study, more than 50,000 jobs are generated, of which 30,000 are indirect. “It is worth noting that this last number of employed people corresponds to artisans, dancers, costume designers, trainers, musicians, producers, logistics and other workers who are behind the scenes of the party,” the report said.
The Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla, through the Carnival Stimulus Portfolio, throughannounced that it will deliver $3.3 billion in resources, to guarantee the realization of more than 250 events, which will reach 91 neighborhoods of the 5 towns of the city.
“ANDA total of 584 projects by the makers of the Barranquilla Carnival and 38 initiatives by operators that will benefit from these contributions. This investment will boost the economy of 31,742 agents of the cultural industries related to the Carnival party. Among the sectors with the greatest impact are dance artists with 17,528 beneficiaries and music with 4,950 musicians.”, pointed out the Mayor of Barranquilla.
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After restrictions due to covid-19, this year the Barranquilla Mayor’s Office projects a rebound in the hotel sector, cwith an occupancy of 95%.
Regarding the average hotel rate, these range between $1.1 million and $1.9 million in category 5 hotels in the city and between $500,000 and $900,000 in category 4 and 3 hotels.
“This shows that just for Carnival Saturday, the city will have a movement of $1.3 billion between its more than 200 category 1 and 5 hotels, not counting its more than 60 other types of accommodation establishments such as aparthotels and tourist homes.”, said the Mayor of Barranquilla, through a statement.
Regarding the visitors who come to the city, Kathy López, head of the District Tourism Office, commented that the arrival of tourists from cities like Bogota, Medellin, Santa Marta, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Valledupar and countries like the United States, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Chile.
From that unit they work together with the Tourism Police and other entities to control and monitor that the plans offered to visitors are fulfilled during the Carnival season, López added.
For its part, the Ernesto Cortissoz airport reported that some airlines have reported increases in the number of flights for the Carnival season.
“In this sense, Avianca will have 3 additional flights from Bogotá, 1 on February 17 and 2 flights on February 19; while Viva will do so with 10 more coming from Medellín and Bogotá”.
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The Barranquilla Carnival has also opened a space for entrepreneurs. This is how visitors will be able to participate in the ‘Emprende Como Es’ fair, at the Mallplaza Buenavista shopping center, led by Carnival Queen Natalia De Castro, with the support of the Entrepreneur Support Unit of the Ministry of Economic Development, Carnival SAS, Chamber of Commerce and Mallplaza Buenavista.
According to figures from the Entrepreneur Support Unit, andThis year the fair projects sales of more than $180 million.
JOHANA LORDUY
@johanalorduy4
