From January to August 2024, foreign tourists injected more than R$ 26 billion into the Brazilian economy. The value is the highest in the last 29 years for the period and represents about 10% more than that recorded in the first eight months of 2023.
The data was published on September 25 by the Central Bank of Brazil (Bacen). In August alone, foreigners spent more than 3 billion reais in Brazil.
The Minister of Tourism of Brazil, Celso Sabino, stressed that the government is committed to attracting more international visitors, working on air connectivity and also on the tourist infrastructure of the destinations. “The growth of this value is also due to the strengthening of international promotion actions. We have been working to show the world more and more that Brazil is a safe country that brings together natural beauty, culture and gastronomy in one place,” he said.
“This is the most important return of the work we do, it is foreign money that enters the Brazilian economy directly into the pockets of the Brazilian population. Within the economic activities that bring international currencies to our country, tourism is the one that has the greatest impact on people’s lives, 95% of businesses are small companies, it is employment and income in the economy of large and small municipalities, throughout the country,” said Marcelo Freixo, president of Embratur.
Positioning Brazil as the largest recipient of tourists in South America until 2027 is the goal of the Federal Government recorded in the new National Tourism Plan (PNT) 2024-2027. The document was recently delivered to Brazilian society and defines the goal of reaching 8.1 million international visitors per year in Brazilian cities and generating US$ 8.1 billion in revenue in the period.
Another prospect is to exceed the mark of 10 million travelers from outside Brazil, given the positive scenario of the last two years.
“We are committed to reaching the mark of 10 million foreign visitors and, if we maintain these good results, we will achieve that goal,” said the Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino.
Income of foreigners
In the first eight months of the year, Brazil received more than 4.45 million international tourists, an increase of 10.7% compared to the same period of 2023 and 1% higher than that recorded from January to August 2019 (43.3 thousand more arrivals), before the Covid-19 pandemic.
In August of this year alone, 417,900 international travelers visited Brazilian cities, a figure 14.5% higher than that of the same month of 2023.
Brazil has 3 sites that are Wonders of the World, one is Christ the Redeemer, located in Rio de Janeiro, which is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World since 2007, and the other two sites are Wonders of Nature, shared with other countries. One of the New 7 Wonders of Nature is the Amazon River (shared with several South American countries) and the other Wonder of Nature is the Iguazú Falls, a tourist attraction shared between Brazil (25%) and Argentina (75%).