The report of huge Hotel bills coming from Brazil, host of next year’s FIFA World Cup is not palatable at all, and the Brazilian government says it is worried about the development.
Eyeonthesports.com gathered that all intending visitors to Brazil including the national teams; officials, Journalists, supporters and fans will have to pay at least $509, about N81,500 per day to stay in an average hotel in Brazil during the World Cup.
With World Cup Tickets going on sale 4 days ago, the Brazilian government has expressed its concern that some hotels listed on FIFA’s website for the 2014 World Cup plan significant price increases during the tournament, according to the Associated Press.
Brazil’s tourism board, Embratur, is said to have notified the justice ministry after its research showed that rates will be up to 500 per cent more expensive during the World Cup in some hotels offered by the Match Services agency on FIFA’s website.
Match is the company appointed by FIFA to provide accommodation, ticketing and event IT services during the World Cup. Embratur said in a statement: “It’s probable that Match is exercising intermediation fees that are a lot higher than usually exercised in the tourism market, harming the rights of potential consumers.”
Embratur’s study compared prices across several dozen hotels in the World Cup’s 12 host cities. Of the 65 hotels listed in the study’s results 22 increased prices more than 200 per cent, with six offering rates at least 300 per cent higher.
The biggest increase was found in the city of Salvador, where a hotel will charge $509, about N81,500 per day during the World Cup, a 583 per cent increase compared to the $75, about N12,000 per day that the fans paid during the Confederations Cup last month.
Embratur said it is seeking to negotiate better prices in part because it fears excessive prices during the World Cup may harm Brazil’s tourism industry on a long-term basis. “Raises without limits may satisfy the profit expectations of some, but they are bad for the sustainability of the business,” said Embratur president Flavio Dino.
“We are hosting these mega events in Brazil to help increase the flux of tourists in the country in the long run. The government will do everything possible to protect the image of the country and of the industry itself.”