São Paulo – This Friday (14), the Brazilian minister of Tourism, Gastão Vieira, said that the federal government is considering ways of speeding up visa issuance to foreign tourists. According to Vieira, the changes should initially benefit the North Americans, the Canadians and the Mexicans.
“The Brazilian ministries of Tourism, Foreign Relations and Embratur [the Brazilian Tourism Institute] are working together to make visa issuance swifter, especially in the United States, Canada and Mexico,” he said.
The minister met with the mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab. The meeting is part of a series of encounters Vieira will have with the mayors of the 12 cities that will host 2014 World Cup matches. Kassab was the second mayor to meet with the minister. Last week Vieira met with Eduardo Paes, from Rio de Janeiro.
After the meeting with Kassab, the minister said São Paulo is one of his priorities. According to him, the city is the “main gateway into Brazil for foreign tourists.” Vieira also said there are several projects in the city that should get federal government support. One is the building of Cidade do Samba (Samba City).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
