Foreigners catch the Brazil bug

Thalita Carrio – Financial Times, 04/24/2013

Usually countries with strong currencies scare off foreign tourists. Witness Australia’s challenges. But not Brazil, apparently.

According to Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, the number of foreign visitors has continued to rise even as though the country’s currency has stayed firm at around R$2 per dollar, making it one of the world’s more expensive destinations. In 2012, Brazil received 5.67m foreign visitors, an increase of 4.5 per cent compared with 2011.

The majority of the tourists came from neighbouring countries in South America, or about 2.8m people. In spite of its economic problems, Argentina took the lead with 1.6m of its people visiting Brazil, an increase of 5 per cent compared with 2011. The US was second with 586,463 tourists, although this represented a decrease of 1.4 per cent compared with a year earlier. Third was Germany with 258,437 tourists.

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Brazil safety concerns rise after arrest of police officers and gang rape on bus

Jonathan Watts – The Guardian, 04/02/2013

Brazil‘s efforts to improve public safety ahead of the football World Cup and the Olympics have taken two high-profile hits in recent days with the arrests of eight police officers in São Paulo and news of the rape and robbery of tourists in Rio de Janeiro.

The officers were arrested after a television broadcast showed two teenagers being shot dead on 16 March in the Bras neighbourhood of São Paulo, while the occupants of a nearby patrol car did nothing to help.

One of the victims – a 14 year old known as Piui who collected paper and cardboard from the streets – was shot six times. The other victim, whose name has not been disclosed, was shot 12 times.

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Brazil effort touts diversity in run-up to World Cup, Olympics

Johanna Jainchill – Travel Weekly, 01/08/2013

As it prepares to host the world’s two largest sporting events over the next four years, Brazil hopes to more than double its tourist arrivals by 2020.

The world’s fifth-largest country is spending $40 million on a global advertising campaign tied to the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Summer Olympics, both taking place in Brazil. The events are expected to bring more than 600,000 and 300,000 visitors to Brazil, respectively.

Marcelo Pedroso, director of international markets for Embratur, the Brazilian Tourism Board, said during a visit to New York that the country hopes the publicity from the two events, along with the tandem marketing campaign, will broaden Brazil’s image from that of “a country with [soccer] and samba.”

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Florida’s tourism gets a boost from a Brazilian invasion

John Couwels – CNN, 01/24/2012

“Oi — Sejam bem-vindos!” — meaning “Hi, welcome!” — is a Portuguese phrase heard more and more these days at Florida’s tourist spots.

That’s because Florida is the top U.S. vacation destination for Brazilians, who are taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate and low prices. Brazilians outnumbered all other international travelers to Florida in 2011, up 41% from the previous year,according to state tourism officials.

And there’s no sign of this Brazilian invasion slowing down: The U.S. Commerce Department projects 1.5 million Brazilians will visit the United States in 2012 — and most of them will head to Florida.

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Rio de Janeiro: Brazil’s tourist magnet now has less to fear

John Briley – The Washington Post, 01/17/2012

By most accounts, I should be very afraid. I’m walking — alone — down a steep, winding passageway in one of Rio de Janeiro’s notorious slums, the Vidigal favela. If I extended my arms, winglike, I would touch, on both sides, homes made of mismatched cement, plywood, tin and tile. In the rare gaps between structures, tattered clothes hang on lines, drying in the 80-degree sun.

I’m being watched, but I have no idea by whom or from where. I’m not entirely sure that I’m going the right way, although I do know that the exit — where slum abruptly ends and upper-class Rio begins — is somewhere downhill from here.

But I’m not worried about my security or the pack on my back, which contains, among other items, a $1,200 camera. And my relative insouciance in this place could signal a major shift for tourists in Rio.

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Delta starts codeshare flights with Brazil’s Gol

SmartBrief/PRNewswire, 02/07/2011

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announced the start of codeshare service with GOL one of Brazil’s largest airlines, immediately adding 15 new destinations to its South American network.

Delta is now selling service on 56 GOL flights between Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia and 15 Brazilian destinations: Belem, Belo Horizonte, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Goiania, Iguassu Falls, Joao Pessoa, Navegantes, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Teresina and Vitoria. The number of codeshare markets is expected to increase to more than 30 by summer, pending government approvals.  

“Delta continues to grow its network in Latin America thanks to strong and visionary partners like GOL, allowing our customers to enjoy a seamless travel experience and an expanded network throughout Brazil,” said Nicolas Ferri, Delta’s vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.

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