Brazil's São Paulo Biennial disappointed with fewer visitors (“only” 663,000) but they spent 33% more

Brazil’s 25^th Bienal Internacional do Livro had been expecting 700,000, but only 663,000 book-lovers turned out for the ten day event.

But it was good news for sellers, with the average visitor spending R$ 161.57 (US$41.33) – representing 33% growth over the 2016 edition.
Brazil’s book stores were hit by transport strikes earlier this year, meaning new books were not getting to stores, and this may be a factor in the increased expenditure recorded this time at the Biennial.
Further good news for publishers came with the visitor satisfaction score, with 97% of the public satisfied with the event and 98% intend to return in the next edition.
One publisher, Intrínseca, reported selling 40,000 books at the Biennial – a 55% increase in sales over the 2016 edition.
“A wonderful result,” announced Jorge Oakim of the publishing house Sextant, which saw growth of 50%.
All this from the public-facing event, which came after the “Professional Day,” a one-day special for publishers of different lands to get together and make deals.
Organised by the Brazilian Chamber of Books (CBL) and Apex Brasil, the Professional Day saw publishers from Brazil, Spanish-speaking Latin America, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey get together to conclude deals worth US$ 310,000.
PublishNews also reports Amazon put on a major show for self-publishers wanting to use the company’s KDP self-publishing portal. It was Amazon’s third attendance at the Biennial.