Brasília – Expensive hotel rates and air tickets to domestic destinations are hampering the growth of domestic tourism and preventing Brazil from becoming established as a destination for foreign tourists. The assessment was given by the president of the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), Flávio Dino, following the announcement of the record-high travel account deficit last month, announced this Tuesday (18th) by the Central Bank.
“We must consider that domestic tourism is very expensive right now. As the IBGE [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics] has ascertained, air tickets and hotel fees are becoming more and more expensive, and that jeopardizes the growth of domestic and international tourism,” said Dino.
According to him, many Brazilians choose to travel overseas after doing research and coming to the conclusion that it is often cheaper than going to some of the most on-demand domestic spots. On the other hand, many foreigners refrain from coming to Brazil due to the prices. That leads not just to greater capital flight, but also to jobs not being created.
According to the Central Bank, from January to November this year, overseas spending by Brazilians reached US$ 20.244 billion. During the same period, foreigners spent US$ 6.082 billion in Brazil. As a result, the travel account deficit (the difference between spending by Brazilians overseas and by foreigners in Brazil) stood at US$ 14.162 billion, as against US$ 13.569 billion in the same period of last year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
