International tourists spent $2.7 bi in Brazil Jan–Jul

BRASILIA. KAZINFORM The amount spent by international tourists in Brazil surpassed $2.7 billion from January to July this year—up 84 percent from the same period last year ($1.5 billion). The figures were released Monday (Sep 26) by the Ministry of Tourism. In July alone, the value stood at $389 million, up 74 from July 2021 ($223 million).

The data are said to indicate a strong rebound in the sector, which suffered a significant impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in the second quarter of 2020. By the end of the year, 4.2 million international visitors should come to Brazil, Agencia Brasil reports.

In an interview on public radio broadcast A Voz do Brasil, Tourism Minister Carlos Brito said the resumption of international flights and the work of Embratur—the agency tasked with advertising the country abroad—should boost the arrival of international travelers.

The highest number of tourists visiting Brazil from overseas was recorded in 2018, when 6.62 million came to the country. In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, they added up to 6.35 million. In 2020, social isolation measures in Brazil and around the world dealt a major blow to global tourism, starting in March. In that year, 1.8 million international visitors were in the country. In 2021, the amount plunged to less than 600 thousand.

«It is very important that international travelers come to our country. Of the visitors coming to our country, around 93 percent want to come back and 95 percent appreciate our gastronomy. We have to bring international tourists to our country, because we have everything they are looking for, or much more than they imagine,» the minister remarked.

Photo: Agencia Brasil