Web Summit Rio 2026 should move more than R $ 219 million in the Rio economy

The 2026 edition of Web Summit Rio should generate an economic impact of R $ 219.1 million for the city of Rio. The estimate is part of the study “Potential Economic Impacts of the Web Summit Rio (2023-2030) – Update 2026”, developed by Prefeitura do Rio, through the Riotur, the Municipal Secretariat of Economic Development (SMDE) and Invest.Rio.

The survey considers an estimated 40 thousand people per day among Brazilian tourists, foreigners and residents of the city, and reinforces the importance of Rio hosting one of the largest innovation and technology events in the world.

According to the study, Brazilian tourists should be the main responsible for the economic movement generated by the event, with an estimated impact of R$ 110.3 million. Next appear the foreign tourists, who must move R $ 78.7 million. The projection for the spending of cariocas is R$ 14.8 million, while the professionals involved in the event should generate R$ 15.3 million in revenues for the local economy.

Among the benefit sectors, hosting leads the estimates, with expected impact of R$ 113.1 million. Next comes the food segment, which includes bars and restaurants, expecting to move R$ 43.4 million.

The projections for the period from 2023 to 2030 point to the accumulated participation of more than one million people in the eight editions of the event held in the city. The total economic impact estimated for this period is R$ 1.9 billion, equivalent to approximately US$ 370 million.

In the accumulated eight editions, Brazilian tourists should answer for the largest portion of the economic movement generated by the Web Summit Rio, with more than R $ 950 million, equivalent to 50.3% of the total predicted impact. Foreign tourists then appear with about R $ 700 million (35.9%). The professionals involved in the event and the residents of the city must move, respectively, R$ 134.5 million (7%) and R$ 130.1 million (6.7 %).

Among the economic segments benefited, the hotel should concentrate the largest portion of the resources generated over the eight editions, with almost R$ 1 billion in economic movement, representing 51.6% of the total spending. The food sector then appears, with approximately R$ 400 million, equivalent to 19.8% of the total. Transport sectors, tourist attractions, leisure and commerce should also be positively impacted.

The first three editions of the Web Summit Rio, held in 2023, 2024 and 2025, gathered 28.6 thousand participants and professionals — 261,000 participants and 19.6 thousand professionals involved in the operation of the event — and generated an economic impact of R$ 476.6 million for the city.

The complete study is available on the website Economic Observatory of Rio.