June 21, 2022

15:06

Bruno Pacheco – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The prices of airline tickets roundtrip Manaus/Parintins, inside the Amazon, pass R$ 8,1 thousand, this week which is held the Folkloric Festival of bois-bumbás (Bulls) Garantido and Caprichoso and already get more expensive than flights to international airports Charles de Gaulle and Orl Airport, in Paris, France, according to consultation on Monday, 20, the travel application 123Milhas. The tool, which works like a currency exchange, where the customer earns “miles” every time you make a trip, showed that go to the French city reaches R$ 200 cheaper.

Who wants to travel from Manaus to Paris needs to spend, at least, R$ 6.2 thousand in round-trip airfare on the same travel platform. With the boarding fees and service, prices increase to R$ 6.9 thousand for Paris and R$ 8.3 thousand for Parintins. The values, both for the Parisian city as for the city of Amazonas, refer to the minimum amount to be paid by passengers who want to stay six days in places, boarding on June 22 this year and returning on the 27th of this month, according to research conducted by CENARIUM MAGAZINE.

On the same date, when consulted at 10h40 this Monday, 20, the site of the Blue Lines Airline, which makes direct flight from Manaus to Parintins, there are vacancies with departure from the Amazon capital, on June 22, worth R$ 2.575,83, but there are no seats for those who want to return on Monday, 27. The closest day, with vacancies available for those seeking to return from Parintins to Manaus, is on Wednesday, 29, worth from R$ 2,560.90.

Altogether, the passenger who seeks to buy passage to go from Manaus to Tupinambarana Island this week, on June 22, and return the next, June 29, need to spend R$ 5,136.73 on Azul Linhas Aereas already with taxes and services of R $ 64.93 included. At Azul Internacional there are no flights available on the same date to Paris, France, according to the CENARIUM survey.

Increase

The return of the Folkloric Festival of Parintins (369 kilometers from Manaus) was announced by Governor Wilson Lima (Union Brazil) in March this year. The event holds its 55th edition and takes place on June 24, 25 and 26, after two years without being held because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival is the main engine of the economy of the city of Parintins. In 2019, more than 60,000 visitors came to the city during the event period. The estimate of the Government of Amazonas is that the festival injects, in 2022, between R$ 80 and R$ 100 million in the economy of the municipality, according to data from the Parintins City Hall.

For this year, traders and service providers also estimate an increase of 85% to 90% in profit, but with the skyrocketing prices of airline tickets, many have been fearing lower earnings. In March this year, with the confirmation of the official dates of the festival, CENARIUM MAGAZINE showed that it was already possible to find airline tickets at high values.

On Gol and Azul airlines, it was possible to find tickets ranging from R$1,100 (one way) to R$2,500 (return) during the days of the festival. Only on Azul, the price of a trip to the city, leaving on the 24th and returning on the 27th, totaled R$ 3,988.73, according to a query made by REVISTA CENARIUM, in March this year, on the company’s website.

See also: After confirmation of the Parintins Festival, ticket prices skyrocket and frustrate internet users

Damage to Parintins

On Monday, 20, the Garantido condemned, vehemently, price escalation and asked the consumer control agencies to act to contain the values of airline tickets. For the general direction of the boi-bumbá, the values of travel are an unprecedented exaggeration.

“We are very concerned about these exorbitant prices, clearly anchored in the opportunity for an exaggerated profit due to the festival. A profit that generates an institutional damage for Parintins and for the festival, because the companies profit, exaggeratedly, with these high fares and make the event unviable for those who can not go to the party,” said singer and composer Mencius Melo, member of the General Directorate of Spectacle (DGE) of Boi Garantido.

For Melo, the high value of the tickets makes Parintins leave a message to Brazil and to the world. “The companies profit and Parintins loses, because we are sending a message to Brazil and to the world that coming here is very expensive and this, of course, is not good for us”, he concluded.

The direction of the Boi Caprichoso highlighted that the festival has taken grandiose proportions, compared to international events and, with so much economic power involved, it is difficult to control the financial movement in the values of air tickets. For the bumbá, however, common sense is necessary.

“We hope that there is good sense and that everything can be solved so that our folkloric festival reaffirms itself as one of the strongest cultural and artistic manifestations most seen in the world”, said Jender Lobato, president of Caprichoso, in a statement.