08/23/2024 – 10:01
Anyone who drives along the Dom Pedro I Highway, at km 86, in the interior of São Paulo, will see from afar an immense metal structure surrounded by slides and palm trees. This is where the first and only indoor water park in Latin America operates, the Aquapark at Tauá Resort & Convention Atibaia. Rain or shine, the place, which cost R$20 million, is packed almost all year round – even in cold weather, the heated water guarantees fun. But it is not from the highway that you can see the resort’s biggest and newest attraction.
In an adjacent area of 3,600 m², the Tauá Group has just opened a space with 14 new attractions, from a wave pool and five water slides to a brand-new water roller coaster. All this with an investment of R$140 million and just over a year of construction. “We managed to increase our average occupancy rate to 81%, while before it was around 75%,” Lizete Ribeiro, CEO of Tauá, a Minas Gerais group founded by her father, João Pinto Ribeiro, told DINHEIRO. “With the change in consumer profile in recent years, in which the experience is worth more than the ownership of an asset, we compete with any leisure and entertainment sector, even a movie theater,” added Lizete.
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Tauá is not alone in this, let’s say, big-time game. There is an unprecedented wave of mega-investments in the resort and theme park sector. Whether at Hot Beach in Olímpia (SP), Beach Park in Aquiraz (CE), the ventures of the Goiás-based WAM Group or the various Brazilian units of Vila Galé, the topics of expansion and investment are recurring topics in the pool. And this applies to all parts of the country. The same Tauá that invested in the interior of São Paulo is building a huge resort in João Pessoa, Paraíba, which will have another indoor park (yes, they say there is a demand for indoor pools in the Northeast!), a hotel complex with 500 rooms and a 7,500 m² water park.
“We are going to create a structure capable of convincing tourists to stay in Brazil, competing with the parks in Florida, Cancun or any other tourist destination in the world. We want to be the Brazilian Disney”, added the CEO of Tauá, who expects to invest R$400 million on the coast of Paraíba and something close to R$1 billion by 2027, adding the projects for its units in Alexânia (GO) and Araxá (MG). “I have no doubt that, with all the investments in the sector, tourism will be like agribusiness for the country in the next ten years.”
The comparison with Disney or agriculture may seem too bold, but the flood of investments underway is, in fact, eye-catching. The Portuguese company Vila Galé, currently the largest resort chain in Brazil, with ten projects in operation, has a budget of R$580 million until 2026 to boost its presence in the country. Under the command of Portuguese billionaire Jorge Rebelo de Almeida, the plan is to have five more new projects: Vila Galé Collection Sunset Cumbuco (CE), which will open in November of this year; Vila Galé Collection Ouro Preto (MG), scheduled to open in April 2025; and Vila Galé Collection Amazônia – Belém, the first project in Pará, scheduled to open in November 2025. Not to mention the recently opened resort in Alagoas, which will also have Vila Galé Collection Coruripe and Vila Galé Nep Kids, dedicated to children. “Adults can only go in there if accompanied by their children,” joked Dr. Jorge, as the charismatic owner of Vila Galé is known.
BRAZIL AS A DESTINATION In addition to these projects, the Vila Galé Group is planning other ventures, which will be announced soon, according to him. All of the new projects are being financed with the company’s own resources. The ten existing hotels represent an investment of over R$1 billion, making Brazil the main destination for the company’s new international plans. “Our decision to invest in Brazil is motivated by its cultural richness, diversity and natural beauty. Vila Galé values the integration of tourism with local culture in its ventures, and the hospitality of the Brazilian people is an important factor in this choice,” said the company’s owner. The chain currently has 32 hotels in Portugal, one in Cuba and one in Spain.
In the case of Brazil, that’s a lot of money. According to calculations by Noctua Advisory, a company specializing in hospitality and entertainment, there are no less than R$10 billion in investments announced for the next three years. “In addition to the 21 large complexes currently in operation, which receive 11.5 million visitors per year, there are 24 new complexes under development,” said Pedro Cypriano, founding partner of Noctua. “There is a lot of room for growth and we believe that Brazil will see double-digit growth in the coming years.”
New leisure and entertainment ventures, such as the Búzios Beach Resort, by WAM Group, are expected to attract more than R$10 billion in 24 new complexes, according to
the consultancy Noctua Advisory
On the list of mega expansion projects is Beach Park, in Aquiraz, metropolitan region of Fortaleza. Between white sand dunes and wind turbines, one of the most impressive leisure and hotel oases in the Northeast emerges. A mini-city with restaurants, shops and shows, open to the public, it has become an attraction even for those who do not want to — or cannot — spend money to enter the park. About to turn 40 in 2025, the tourist complex is experiencing its best moment.
With investments of almost R$200 million in the last two years, the site is expected to grow from the current 800,000 visitors per year to more than 1 million people by 2025. According to Murilo Pascoal, CEO of Beach Park, the group is experiencing its biggest cycle of growth and investment in its history. “The park’s new attractions, the Arvorar ecological park project, our new Ohana hotel and the piers in Fortaleza will take the group to new heights in the coming years,” Pascoal told DINHEIRO.
Far beyond the animated characters, the extreme slides and the heated wave pools, much of the growth projected for the coming years is based on the segment called timeshare or multi-ownership — when the same apartment is purchased, with deed and everything, by up to 48 families. Of the R$10 billion announced by the sector, approximately R$4 billion is earmarked for the construction of units for this niche. It seems like a lot, but it is not.
“Currently, only 27% of Brazilian resorts have adopted timeshare. In the United States, there are already almost 1,600 resorts, which represents 89% of the offer,” says Cypriano. “We are at the beginning of a potentially long cycle of growth in Brazil. And entertainment will increasingly play a strategic role in structuring innovative projects throughout the country.”
Among the drivers of new investments, timeshare is by far the one that has been gaining increasing prominence. According to the study Timeshare in Brazil: Market Sizing and Performance, recently completed by Noctua in partnership with RCI, there are more than 150 operations in Brazil today, which together total 14.2 thousand housing units and more than 154 thousand customers in the active base. They are represented by companies such as Aviva, Beach Park, Cana Brava, Costão do Santinho, diRoma Hotéis, Enotel Hotéis & Resorts, GR Group, Grupo Tauá, Hotéis Flamboyant, ibiobi Smart Club, Jurema Águas Quentes, Le Canton, Mabu Hotéis & Resorts, Premium Vacations (Transamerica Comandatuba), Royal Palm Hotels & Resorts and Wish Hotels & Resorts.
Regarding geographic presence, the study shows that timeshare is distributed across 14 states and 25 Brazilian cities. Considering the presence of ventures in the regions, they are mostly located in the Central-West region (37.9%), followed by the Northeast (25.9%), Southeast (19%) and South (17.2%). By the distribution of the sample by housing units, there is a slight inversion between the markets that occupy first and second places, with the Northeast region taking the lead (28.3%), followed by the Central-West (27.3%), Southeast (26%) and South (18.4%).
“If there is more funding, the scenario will be even better, with the possibility of international groups coming here”
Caio Calfat CEO of Calfat Consulting
For Caio Calfat, one of the leading experts in the sector, the hospitality market has attracted a lot of investment thanks to the possibility of operating based on the condo-hotel model and multi-ownership, attracting the attention of many investors. “Although we are experiencing a very promising scenario in terms of investment, if there is more specific financing, the scenario will be even better, with the possibility of international groups investing here.”
The city of Olímpia, in the interior of São Paulo, is witness to the Eldorado of national tourism and the popularization of timeshare. One of the largest and most visited tourist complexes in the city, Hot Beach is expected to receive 1.2 million tourists this year, 40% of Olímpia’s visitors. Its competitor, Thermas dos Laranjais, which is more geared towards the lower class and is preferred by CVC excursions and packages, is expecting more than 2 million visitors.
It is no coincidence that Hot Beach plans to invest more than R$600 million this year alone in modernizing and expanding its water park and hotel structure, 20% more than the R$500 million it invested in 2023. According to Diego Ferrato, superintendent of Grupo Ferrasa, which controls Hot Beach, the plan is to improve the quality of service and the level of experience. “With the expansion of the kids’ areas, the expansion of the park, the new Rooftop restaurant in October and the Hot Beach You apartment complex, we will surpass the R$1 billion mark by 2028,” said Ferrato, who estimates that the city of Olímpia will have more than 10 million visitors in the next four years.
Whether it’s for the heated pools, the pirouettes on the slides, the sophistication of the rooms or the quality of the new restaurants, it’s in Brazilian resorts that billion-dollar investments intend to stay.
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