Brasília – Spending by foreign tourists in Brazil from January to July this year amounted to more than USD 2.7 billion (about BRL 14.5 billion at today’s exchange rate), 84% higher than the amount recorded in the same period last year (USD 1.5 billion). The information was published by the Ministry of Tourism, based on data from the Central Bank. Pictured, Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro.
In July this year alone, USD 389 million was received, 74% more than in July 2021 (USD 223 million). According to the Ministry of Tourism, the data indicate a substantial recovery of the sector, which suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Tourism expects that 4.2 million foreign tourists will visit Brazil by the end of the year.
The record of foreign tourists who visited Brazil was posted in 2018, when 6.62 million came to the country. In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, there were 6.35 million. In 2020, social isolation measures in Brazil and in the world caused a big blow to international tourism, starting in March. That year, there were 1.8 million foreign tourists in the country. By 2021, that number had dropped to less than 600,000. This year, foreign tourists once again surpassed 1 million in the first half of the year.
“It is very important that foreigners come to our country. Out of the foreigners who come to our country, around 93% want to come back and 95% approve of our cuisine. We have to bring foreign tourists to our country, because we have everything they are looking for or much more than they imagine”, said Tourism minister Carlos Brito.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
