Last weekend Brazil welcomed the start of the Olympic Games 2016 and as the world turns to focus on the sporting mega-event, using Avinode Marketplace data, we can see business jet flight requests to Rio de Janeiro rocketed up by over 1,000% compared to the same period last year.

The graph above shows the steady pattern of flight requests for the past 24 months up until the steep spike in August.

In comparison to other cities in Latin America, requests for Rio de Janeiro increased by ten times over the Olympics opening weekend. Last August Rio was not even among the top ten most requested destinations, owning only 2% of the share, falling behind more popular cities in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Mexico and the Bahamas.

It would appear that Europeans are the main Olympic visitors as 40% of business jet flight requests are from Europe. This is followed closely by the US and Canada, accounting for over a third (35%) of all Rio requests.

We expect that demand for Rio will continue to be high over the next two weeks until the final Games. As we head into fall, it will be interesting to see which cultural or political events will shape the trends in flight requests and movements. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the Games, whether you are visiting in person or watching from afar.

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