Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Brazil is attracting a new kind of tourist who spends more during his stay in the country. They are foreigners who come to the country on business and to participate in events and conventions. This information, disclosed in an international tourism research about the country, was disclosed yesterday by the Ministry of Tourism and the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), in Brazilian capital Brasília. According to the study, executed by the Economic Research Institute Foundation (Fipe) based on figures for 2006, the percentage of tourists visiting Brazil on business or to participate in events and conventions is 29.1% of the total. In 2005 it was 28.1%.
"This is very good, and it follows the economic development of the country," stated the president at Embratur, Jeanine Pires. While tourists who come to Brazil on leisure spend US$ 73.53 a day, those in the country on business spend US$ 165.14 per day. The value, incidentally, rose last year in comparison with 2005. Business tourists spent US$ 147.44 in Brazil in the previous year. The Brazilian city that is most sought for this kind of activity is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte. The research shows that business tourists who spend most in the country are from the US, US$ 202.8.
Alongside the advance in some economic activities in the country, the Embratur and the Ministry of Tourism are also working to attract international events to the country. Brazil was, in 2003, in the 21st position in terms of attraction of international events and in 2006 it leaped to the seventh position. This kind of tourism, according to Jeanine, helps to balance the seasonality of some destinations. In the south and southeast, for example, when the climate is not attractive to leisure tourism, the idea is for sector revenues to come from other kinds of tourism, like business.
The main tourist attraction in Brazil, however, is still leisure: 73.53%, according to the Fipe study. Then comes business, events and conventions and finally visits to friends and relatives, with 24.4%. The cities most visited for leisure are Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu, Florianópolis, Salvador and São Paulo. Of all kinds of tourists, 24.6% return home satisfied above expectations and 59.6% go back fully satisfied. Only 2.4% return unsatisfied. Most of those visiting Brazil – 65.8% – are here for the second time or more.
*Translated by Mark Ament
