Brasília – Despite the recent dollar hike, spending by Brazilians on foreign trips reached an all-time high for the month of May, at US$ 1,829 billion, according to the Central Bank.
According to the head of the Central Bank’s Economic Department, Tulio Maciel, the bullish dollar did not influence the result in May because consumers buy travel packages ahead of time. “A significant share of the spending had already been scheduled,” he said. However, the Central Bank expects disbursements to drop.
“We are still seeing a significant flow, but international trips are expected to decline throughout the year, especially when compared with last year,” he said. In the first five months of this year, Brazilian citizens spent US$ 9.019 billion abroad, up from US$ 8.376 billion from January to May 2011.
Spending by foreigners during trips to Brazil reached US$ 3.009 billion in the first five months of this year, as against US$ 2.801 billion in the same period of last year. In May alone, spending reached US$ 532 million, as against US$ 527 million in the same period of last year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
