Brazil received 546,200 foreign visitors in the month of April. Arrivals on international flights grew 10.3% in comparison to the same month last year, when a total of 495,100 passengers arrived from other nations.
From January to April this year, the growth was 1.29% when compared to the same quarter in 2005. The number of passengers arriving on chartered flights in April reached 26,900 passengers from other countries. This total represents growth of 15% when compared to 2005, when there were 23,400 arrivals.
According to estimates by the Minister of Tourism, Walfrido dos Mares Guia, around six million foreign tourists should visit Brazilian cities this year. Last year, the country received a record 5.4 million visitors.
The minister believes that of the six million foreign tourists, it is possible that over 2.5 million may be Europeans. To provide an impulse to the arrival of foreign tourists to Brazil, the Ministry of Tourism is going to participate in various fairs in the sector in other countries, like Spain, Portugal, Peru, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
In the accumulated result for the year, Brazil has registered the entry of US$ 1.5 billion in tourist expenses, representing a 19.7% increase when compared to the same period in 2005. In the month of April alone, US$ 344 million came in, growth of 17% when compared to the same period in 2005.
The best month in history, however, was March, when the total of foreign funds entering was US$ 453 million. This year, Mares Guia believes that foreigners traveling to Brazil should spend approximately US$ 5 billion.
The tourism sector in Brazil should generate 1.2 million direct and indirect jobs up to the end of 2007. According to the Minister of Tourism, Walfrido dos Mares Guia, since 2003, a total of 600,000 work posts have already been created.
The forecast is that another 310,000 should be opened this year. The establishment of work posts is one of the targets of the National Tourism Plan, launched in April 2003.
Anba