
The Brazilian government said it has convinced Rio de Janeiro hoteliers to lower rates during the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in June.
Very well aware of price-hiking before the World Cup and Olympics later this decade, Brazilian officials stated on Wednesday they had convinced hoteliers in Rio de Janeiro to decrease skyrocketing prices before of a major U.N. summit next month, according to Reuters.Five weeks before the debut of the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, government officials stated that hotels in Rio would cut prices during the event by at least a quarter.The conference, commonly called Rio + 20 because of the 20-year anniversary of the major Earth Summit in the Rio, is expected to attract 50,000 visitors and more than 100 government leaders from across the globe, according to Reuters.Increasing demand for rare vacancies (consequently because of group reservations done by Brazil's government to guarantee housing for visiting delegations), prompted hoteliers recently to start asking for exorbitant rates during the event, which starts on June 20.The exorbitant prices shocked many non-governmental delegations and other potential visitors, some of which cancelled plans to attend. Even some government groups, including the European Parliament, decided to reduce the size of their delegations, according to Reuters.The prices also aroused concern inside the government, and skepticism from opponents, many of whom fear that the same problems could happen when Brazil hosts the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years later.
