Tourism in Brazil is a growing sector and key to the economy of several regions of the country. The country had 5.2 million visitors in 2008 and in 2007 ranked as the fourth largest tourist destination in the Americas, the main destination in South America, and second in Latin America after Mexico, in terms of the international tourist arrivals. Revenues from international tourists reached USD 5.78 billion in 2008. In 2005, tourism contributed with 3.2% of the country's revenues from exports of goods and services, and represented 7% of direct and indirect employment in the Brazilian economy. In 2006 direct employment in the sector reached 1.87 million people. Domestic tourism is a fundamental market segment for the industry, as 51 million traveled throughout the country in 2005, and direct revenues from Brazilian tourists reached USD 21.8 billion, 5.6 times more receipts than international tourists in 2005.
Brazil offers for both domestic and international tourists, an ample gamut of options, with natural areas being its most popular tourism product, a combination of ecotourism with leisure and recreation, mainly sun and beach, and adventure travel, as well as historic and cultural tourism. Among the most popular destinations are the Amazon Rainforest, beaches and dunes in the Northeast Region, the Pantanal in the Center-West Region, beaches at the Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina, cultural and historic tourism in Minas Gerais and business trips to São Paulo city.
In terms of 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which is a measurement of the factors that make it attractive to develop business in the travel and tourism industry of individual countries, Brazil reached the 49th place in the world's ranking, second among Latin American countries, and sixth in the Americas. Brazil main competitive advantages are shown by the subindex measuring human, cultural, and natural resources, where Brazil ranks sixth at the worldwide level, and third when only the natural resources criteria is considered. The TTCI report also notes Brazil's main weaknesses, information and communications technology infrastructure (ranked 58th), ground transport infrastructure (ranked 95th), and safety and security (ranked 128th).
International tourism
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), international travel to Brazil began to grow fast since 2000, particularly during 2004 and 2005. However, in 2006 a slow down took place, and international arrivals have had almost no growth both in 2007 and 2008. In spite of this trend, revenues from international tourism continue to rise, from USD 3.9 billion in 2005 to USD 4.9 billion in 2007, a one billion dollar increase despite 333 thousand less arrivals. This favorable trend is the result of the strong devaluation of the American dollar against the Brazilian Real, which began in 2004, but on the other hand, making Brazil a more expensive international destination. Also, there have been a market demand contraction of international visitors due the 2006-2007 Brazilian aviation and airport crisis, and Varig Brazilian airline financial crisis, considered responsible for close to 400 thousand international travelers desisting to visit Brazil in 2006.
Despite continuing record breaking of international tourism revenues, the number of Brazilian tourists travelling overseas has been growing steadily since 2003, resulting in a net negative foreign exchange balance, as more money is spent abroad by Brazilian than receipts from international tourist visiting Brazil. Tourism expenditures abroad grew from USD 5.76 billion in 2006, to USD 8.21 billion in 2007, a 42,45% increase, representing a net deficit of USD 3.26 billion in 2007, as compared to USD 1.45 billion in 2006, a 125% increase from the previous year. This trend is caused by Brazilians taking advantage of the stronger Real to travel and making relatively cheaper expenditures abroad. Brazilian traveling overseas in 2006 represented 3.9% of the country's population.
In 2005, Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu, São Paulo, Florianópolis and Salvador were the most visited cities by international tourists for leisure trips. The most popular destinations for business trips were São Paulo, Río de Janeiro and Porto Alegre. In 2006 Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza were the most popular destinations by national visitors.
Most international visitors in 2008 came from Argentina (20.2%), from the United States (12.4%) and from Italy (5.3%), while as a region most visitors came from neighboring South American countries, mainly from Mercosur. Top international arrivals by country of origin between 2006 and 2008 are:
Comparison with other Latin American destinations
The following is a comparative summary of Brazil's tourism industry key performance indicators as compared with countries considered among the most popular destinations in Latin America, and relevant economic indicators are included to show the relative importance that international tourism has on the economy of the selected countries.
Domestic tourism
Domestic tourism is a key market segment for the tourism industry in Brazil. In 2005, 51 million Brazilian nationals made ten times more trips than foreign tourists and spent five times more money than their international counterparts. The main destination states in 2005 were São Paulo (27,7%), Minas Gerais (10,8%), Rio de Janeiro (8,4%), Bahia (7,4%) and Santa Catarina (7,2%). The top three states by trip origin were São Paulo (35,7%), Minas Gerais (13,6%) and Rio de Janeiro (8,2%). In terms of tourism revenues, the top earners by state are São Paulo (16,4%) and Bahia (11,7%). For 2005 the three main trip purposes were visiting friends and family (53,1%), sun and beach (40,8%), and cultural tourism (12,5%).
Tourism by regions of Brazil
Southeast Region
- Rio de Janeiro
- Rio de Janeiro State: Angra dos Reis, Paraty, Resende, Visconde de Mauá, Itatiaia National Park, Petrópolis, Vassouras, Teresópolis, Serra dos Órgãos, Nova Friburgo, Saquarema, Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio, Búzios, Ilha Grande
- Espírito Santo: Vitória, Vila Velha, Guarapari, Anchieta, Piúma, Domingos Martins, Santa Teresa
- Minas Gerais: Belo Horizonte, Sabará, Ouro Preto, Congonhas, Mariana, Lavras, São João del Rei, Tiradentes, Diamantina, Caxambu, São Lourenço, São Thomé das Letras, Caparaó National Park, Pico da Bandeira, Serra do Cipó National Park
- São Paulo
- São Paulo State: São Sebastião, Ilhabela, Boiçucanga, Guarujá, Santos, Iguape, Cananéia, São Vicente, Campos do Jordão, Campinas, Ribeirão Preto, São José dos Campos, Sorocaba, Americana, Araçatuba, Araraquara, Araras, Atibaia, Barretos, Birigüi, Botucatu, Bragança Paulista, Itu, Jaú
Southern Region
- Paraná: Curitiba, Morretes, Antonina, Paranaguá, Ilha do Mel, Superagüi National Park, Foz do Iguaçu, Iguaçu Falls
- Santa Catarina : Florianópolis, Ilha de Santa Catarina, Joinville, Blumenau, Itapema, Balneário Camboriú
- Rio Grande do Sul: Porto Alegre, Torres, Aparados da Serra National Park, Serra Gaúcha, Canela, Gramado
Center-West Region
- Distrito Federal: Brasília
- Go
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