São Paulo – Brazil ranks 7th in the global list of international event hosting countries, and in 2009 the country hosted 39 events more than in 2008. This is Brazil’s fourth consecutive year in the top ten of the ranking thta the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) disclosed today (13th).
In 2009, the country hosted 293 international events, representing growth of 15.4% compared with the previous year, whereas the average growth worldwide was 10.8%. The survey also shows that event-hosting cities have become less centralized. There were 48 cities in 2009, three more than in 2008.
São Paulo ranked first among Brazilian cities, with 79 events, four more than in the previous year. The city ranked 18th in the global list. Rio de Janeiro hosted 62 events in 2009, as against 41 in 2008, and climbed 10 positions in the ranking of cities, from 36th to 26th.
The other Brazilian cities in the international ranking are Salvador, Florianópolis, Foz do Iguaçu, Recife, Búzios, Brasília, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Gramado, Campinas, Fortaleza and Porto Alegre, having hosted at least five international events each in 2009.
“Aside from the country’s position in the ranking, the steady increase in the number of cities is of utmost importance to Brazil. When a place hosts an international event, it has to become qualified to receive the differentiated tourists in attendance, and benefits from the economic turnover that the event causes. Therefore, decentralization helps generate employment and income in the country’s various regions. The Ministry’s effort is going to help precisely with that – providing destinations with qualification and aiding local economies, and thus contributing to lessen regional inequalities,” stated Luiz Barreto, the Brazilian minister of Tourism, in a press release issued by the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur).
The ICCA’s survey also shows that Brazil ranks 5th in the list of countries with the greatest increase in total number of events held last year.
“Brazil’s performance is surprising, because despite these good figures announced by the ICCA, the country only bids to host approximately 60% of events, taking into account that there are European- or Asian-only events, for example,” said Jeanine Pires, president of the Embratur, also in a press release.
According to projections of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, the 254 international events counted by the ICCA in 2008 in Brazil generated US$ 122 million in expenditure by visitors attending those events.
The ICCA is the world’s leading event industry association and its ranking is a worldwide reference. The organization only counts touring events (held in a different country each time), with a set duration and a minimum of 50 participants.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
