Agência Brasil*
Brasília – Expenditures by Brazilian tourists in foreign countries remain high. According to data disclosed today (28th) by the Brazilian Central Bank, foreign spending by Brazilians totalled US$ 751 million in March, growth of 44.1% in comparison with the value recorded in the same month of last year.
In the first three months this year, spending totalled US$ 2.538 billion, greater than the US$ 1.594 billion recorded in the same period of 2007. Greater expenditures are a consequence of the lower value of the dollar, which makes travelling cheaper, and also of the rise in income of Brazilians.
On the other hand, expenses by foreign tourists in Brazil, in March, stood at US$ 518 million, growth of 19.4%. In the accumulated result for the year, the total of US$ 1.608 billion surpasses the US$ 1.332 billion recorded in the same period of 2007.
In the face of those results, the travel surplus ended negative at US$ 233 million in March, and at US$ 930 million in the first quarter this year. Last year, during the same periods, the deficit was much lower, at US$ 87 million and US$ 262 million, respectively.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
