ENTERTAINMENT AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN BRAZIL

By Sérgio Takao Sato

In a crisis we become aware of what is truly essential in our lives. In a critical and pandemic scenario, we can say that needs take on new configurations and everything that we took for granted is beyond our control, showing that the individual cannot exist without the collective.

One of the lessons that the new coronavirus brought to us was precisely to value this community, to rethink our relationships, to understand the value of being together to exchange experiences and emotions. While in this journey of isolation, we found that entertainment has become a key part of the mental health of a large part of the population.

Social networks in Brazil have become a fertile ground for events of all kinds, but even with major brands reformulating their marketing and communication plans and investing in digital content, the events and entertainment markets will take a long time to recover from Covid-19 impacts.

TASA Eventos is a Brazilian event organizer specialized in planning and organizing huge events, that spreads Japanese culture to all corners of Brazil. Even considered one of the best in the country, this scenario also brought an avalanche of cancellations. Major events such as Costão Matsuri (Costão do Santinho Resort - Florianópolis) among many others had to be postponed.

The event industry plays an important role in the Brazilian economy, being responsible for 8% of GDP and 7% of direct and formal jobs. It is certain that the crisis will pass, that we will have an economic recovery, but we do not yet know when and how we get there and how will we survive. It is estimated that our market will have a reduction of at least 30% in the number of events, exhibitors, sponsors and even the public, due to public fear of great agglomeration.

Operating with 60% of its revenue from events, one of our biggest partners, Costão do Santinho Resort, in Florianópolis (SC), had its businesses strongly impacted by the new coronavirus. There were 45 events canceled or transferred between the months of March and July, generating a loss of revenue in the year of approximately US$ 10 million. A loss that will take years to recover.

One of these events was our traditional Costão Matsuri, one of the largest festivals of Japanese culture in resorts in Brazil with musical shows, gastronomy, workshops and film shows. Since 2005 it has been held in July and, in 2020, it will take place between 16 and 19 November. By postponing the event, the public, faithful to this event, will stop staying at the resort in July, strongly impacting the business.

Another important event produced by TASA, is the Rio Matsuri - Japanese Culture Festival, scheduled for January 2021, in Rio de Janeiro. It also suffers from the impacts of Covid-19. The uncertainty about the extension of the remaining consequences in town, the Brazilian second city with highest number of infected and killed, has increased difficulties in the sale of exhibits, vendors and sponsorships.

It is impossible to come across all these festivals without thinking that events will have to reinvent itself. In our new exhibitor manual, some changes are already foreseen, such as, for example, large closed stands giving space for more open environments in order to reduce the risk of contamination. Investment is being directed towards more airy stands, wider corridors, alcohol gel spread throughout the fairs and, most likely, the use of masks for everyone. We will also have temperature gauges as a preventive action to avoid environments prone to contamination. We have to keep in mind that when the pandemic gets to its end, our way of living has changed for good. So, we will take this as a security measure to protect our customers and the public.

The moment is difficult and also an opportunity to unite event organizers. Brazil is one of the major players in South America in events. For its location, its economy, its wealth and its people, attracts people from all over the world for its entertainment and corporate events from the most diverse economic segments. It promotes launches, new knowledge, innovation, networking and a series of benefits for its clients and attendees. After the crisis is gone, I am sure that we will be able to strengthen ourselves and we will once again support the economic, cultural, technological and social growth of our country.

As once said, one of the Brazilian greatest leaders, “events will be recognized as a high impact tool to consolidate commercial, cultural and personal relations. We will be the bridge that will lead the activities of the present to the future, from the crisis to the real recovery of the world economy.”

About the Author:

Sérgio Takao Sato, CEO of Tasa Eventos is an event organizer specialized in the creation, planning and organization of Matsuris (Japanese Culture Festivals) based in Maringá-PR, Brazil. He is also a Postgraduate Professor of Planning and Event Management at Universidade Positivo (Londrina).”I love and live intensely the challenge of organizing events that enchant people”.www. tasaeventos.com. br

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