São Paulo – Out of the 133 countries surveyed for the third edition of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, disclosed this week by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, Switzerland, Brazil climbed four positions compared with 2008, and now ranks 45th.
According to the survey, in terms of competitiveness and tourist attractiveness, the country ranks first in South America, second in Latin America, and fifth in the overall ranking of the Americas, after Canada, the United States, Barbados and Costa Rica.
“The result is encouraging and shows that we are on the right path. The 2014 World Cup is going to make infrastructure investment happen sooner, which should even further improve the position of Brazil in the ranking in coming years,” stated the Minister of Tourism, Luiz Barretto, in a press release.
Environment and culture were also responsible for the good performance of Brazil in the ranking of countries: it ranked second concerning natural resources, and 14th in cultural resources. In the item "Cultural, Natural and Human Resources," Brazil ranks fourth in the overall ranking.
According to the president of Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), Jeanine Pires, “the result goes to show that Brazil is consolidating itself as one of the emerging countries in the global tourism market and reaffirming its leadership position in South America.”
The report, entitled “Managing in a time of turbulence,” combines data from public sources, institutions and specialists in travel and international tourism, in addition to the results of an opinion poll with CEOs and the main economic leaders of the countries surveyed.
The items analysed for the ranking were: Policy rules and regulations; Environmental sustainability; Safety and security; Health and hygiene; Prioritisation of travel & tourism; Air transport infrastructure; Ground transport infrastructure; Tourism infrastructure; ICT infrastructure; Price competitiveness in the T&T industry; Human resources; Affinity for travel & tourism; Natural resources; and Cultural resources.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
