São Paulo – Last year, Brazil received 4.8 million foreign tourists, a decline of 4.9% compared with 2008. According to data disclosed by the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, the global crisis caused the decrease, and Europe, the main origin of tourists who come to Brazil, was responsible for a large share of the reduction.
Last year, tourists trips to Brazil from countries such as Portugal and Spain dropped by 17.4% and 13.8%, respectively, compared with 2008. Argentinians led the ranking of foreigners who visited the country, with 1.21 million tourists.
This year, the ministry expects tourist inflow to rise. In January and February, the average number of international air arrivals grew by 16.53% in comparison with the same period of last year.
"The results in the first months of the year show that 2010 will be a year of consolidation of the results achieved thus far, in a growth curve that bucked the trend in 2009, with the global economic crisis," said in a press release the president of the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), Jeanine Pires.
*Tradução de Gabriel Pomerancblum