São Paulo – Tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup, the Formula 1 championship and the Olympic Games attract people of all ages and from all places to their hosting countries. But those who wish to profit from the crowd that will come to the World Cup Brazil, in 2014, must concentrate their attention in male fans and in tourists who will travel in groups. Out of the roughly 600,000 foreigners Brazil should receive in June and July 2014, 83% should be men with an average monthly income of 25,000 Brazilian reals (US$ 14,110) per month, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Among these fans, 81% should come to the country in groups.
These are not the only information available on these fans. The coordinator of the educational event area of the National Commercial Apprenticeship Service (Senac) in São Paulo, Marcelo Calado, reveals other characteristics of this crowd. “They have been to other world cups and should also travel across the country in between the matches seeking entertainment,” he says. According to Calado, it is a different audience from the one that watches the Olympics. “The Olympic Games attract people who work in sports and athletes’ relatives.”
Be they men, women, or families, foreigners should spend an average of 11,000 reals (US$ 6,200) in Brazil, including air ticket and lodging. In addition to the city in which they will watch the matches, foreign fans should visit four other cities during their stay in the country.
During the World Cup 2006, Germany, the event’s host country, received approximately 2 million foreign tourists. In 2010, South Africa received 310,000.
Brazil is expected to receive more tourists than South Africa, but less ones than Germany. Calado claims that it is hard to compare the flow of tourists who went to Africa and will come to Brazil with those who went to Germany. “European countries are very close to one another and travelling between them is easy. Thus, fans move around with much more ease, however they go back home sooner,” he says.
The director of the study and research department of the Ministry of Tourism, José Francisco de Salles Lopes claims that Brazil should receive many South American tourists, for the same reason that Germany attracted so many Europeans: the proximity.
“We will have many people over from Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, in addition to people from Europe and the United States. The leading tourist generating countries in the world are England and Germany. However, the amount that will come from each country will depend on which national teams qualify for the event,” says Lopes. According to Calado, a tourist remains in the host country for eight to ten days. For the Brazil World Cup, however, visitors should stay longer because the distance is generally larger.
Calado highlights that the longer stay of foreigners here creates opportunity, but it also poses challenges. “Some studies show that the longer a person stays in a given country, the more they spend at supermarkets, not only at restaurants. Lodging establishments already employ bilingual personnel, but stores, commercial establishments, bookstores, supermarkets do not. The industry lacks training,” he says.
Even those who are not businessmen and will not work directly with the World Cup may earn from foreign tourists in Brazil. According to Lopes, during the South African Cup, 10% of foreigners stayed in family households. The trend should repeat itself in Brazil. “What we will see is something that is gaining popularity and already took place in the 2010 Cup, which is ‘bed and breakfast’.” Tourists stay at families’ houses just to spend the night and have breakfast,” he says.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
