Parque da Tijuca, with Christ, is box office champion – 10/28/2023 – Environment

Christ the Redeemer, opened in 1931 on Corcovado Hill, in Rio de Janeiro, became more famous than the national park that houses it. Today, visiting the monument that is the country’s postcard is a guarantee of income for the Tijuca park.

With 3.5 million visitors in 2022, the Tijuca National Park generated more than R$23.7 million in revenue from visits, a share that represents approximately 60% of the total revenue from national parks — together, they generated R$39 .9 million last year.

The proportion in 2023 is even higher. Of everything the federal government raised from visits to parks — around R$30 million — from January to July, 94% was in the Tijuca conservation area.

The data was obtained by the report through LAI (Access to Information Law).

It is not possible, however, to say that the Tijuca National Park supports all the others. The resources collected at the unit are not distributed, according to ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), responsible for the administration of national parks.

The law that established the national system of conservation units provides that part of the revenue from visits is allocated to the maintenance of the collection unit itself. A second part goes to the land regularization of the units, and a final third, to the maintenance and management of other spaces.

According to ICMBio, however, “there is no regulation that establishes the mechanism for controlling the application of these resources”. “The amounts collected are fully allocated to the National Treasury and returned to ICMBio”, stated the institute, in a note.

The Tijuca National Park is extensive: it goes from the Andaraí neighborhood, in the north, to Gávea Pequena, an isolated and richer part in the south. The vegetation began to take on the form of a park in 1861, when farms and farms in the neighborhood of the same name were expropriated so that the Atlantic forest could grow again. In 13 years, 100 thousand trees were planted.

In the 1940s, internal paths were built, increasing the circulation of people in the area. In 1961, the green area of ​​the Tijuca massif was transformed into a national park.

Rio’s weight in revenue from conservation units increased after the auction of the Iguaçu National Park (PR). In 2022, the concession formed by Grupo Cataratas and Construcap began to manage the conservation unit famous for the falls.

By contract, there will be no ICMBio collection in 2023 in the Paraná park. According to the institute’s ombudsman, the grant payment is expected to be made from the 49th month after the grant date.

In 2022, when it was still under the umbrella of the Ministry of the Environment, the Iguaçu National Park raised just over R$13 million from visits, while Tijuca was responsible for R$26 million, in approximate amounts.

In the same year, the Brasília National Park, created in 1961, was the third largest in revenue from visitors, with R$2 million. In comparison, the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park had revenue of R$310,000 in 2022.

Included by UNESCO on the list of world heritage sites, Christ the Redeemer attracts revenue from the Tijuca National Park.

Tickets for visits by van are sold at R$78.50 in high season and R$54.50 in low season. Access via the Corcovado train, a tour much sought after by tourists, costs R$ 117.50 at the top and R$ 93.50 at the low end.

Although Christ the Redeemer is the main attraction, the visitor must pay to enter the Tijuca park as a whole. The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, responsible for managing the sanctuary, has been demanding for years a share of the ticket revenue.

In April last year, an agreement was signed and R$3 was added to the total ticket price. This quota is allocated to the archdiocese for the maintenance of the monument, but the Catholic group claims that it is little.

In September, ICMBio denied a request for an adjustment in the amount made by the Church. The institute said a study was needed to increase the entry price. The archdiocese is considering reacting to the denial.

“Everything that concerns Christ the Redeemer is a fortune. The soapstones come from a quarry in Minas Gerais, which is the original. The maintenance of the plateau is carried out by us. The lightning rod structure is extremely sophisticated, and is It’s our care. When lightning strikes, a little piece falls off your hand or finger”, says the archdiocese.

The relationship between those responsible for Christ the Redeemer and the administration of the Tijuca National Park fluctuates. Just last year, members of the Church gained access to the sanctuary of Christ the Redeemer after years. Until then, entry depended on authorization from ICMBio employees. Father Omar, rector of the sanctuary, was blocked three times.

The Tijuca park is divided into sectors. The forest of the same name, accessed through Alto da Boa Vista, has dense forest and is full of waterfalls.

Kleber Venturelli, tour guide, is one of those who indirectly earns money from the park’s success.

“The Tijuca forest has several trails, waterfalls, mountains, caves. There are many options to work in the area of ​​ecotourism”, he states.

The Serra Carioca sector, where the Corcovado hill and Christ the Redeemer are located, goes up through Paineiras. In the Gávea sector, there are the most famous trails in the city, such as the one that leads to Pedra Bonita, where there is a take-off ramp for hang gliders, and to Pedra da Gávea, a rock formation that resembles a human face, with challenging access to beginners.

“In the Floresta da Tijuca sector, there are the Baronesa, Diamantina and Cachoeira das Almas waterfalls. It’s a very easy circuit to do, light level. But most tourists who come to me for a trail want to go to Pedra da Gávea, where there is a section of climbing where most people need equipment. But it’s breathtaking”, says the guide.