Brazil Wants to Double Its Visitors by 2022 But at What Cost?
Photo Credit: How prepared are Brazil's destinations, like Rio (pictured here) for a doubling of visitors by 2022? Flickr.com / https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeepachetan/
Skift Take
Brazil is aiming to double its visitors by 2022 and change its image to shift the focus onto its natural resources. There are concerns, however, about whether the plan is sustainable.
Despite worldwide familiarity with aspects of Brazilian culture — the colorful Carnival festival in Rio de Janeiro and soccer obsession, to name a few—the country sees relatively few tourists despite being the largest South American country by population and land area. More than 209 million people call Brazil home, yet it only receives about 6.6 million non-resident tourists each year, according to its tourism ministry. By comparison, the U.K. has a population of 66.4 million and welcomes nearly 38 million visitors per year.
But since conservative president Jair Bolsonaro took office at the beginning of the year, Brazil has been focused on opening its borders to visitors around the world. The country is focused on doubling its tourist numbers by 2022, Brazil’s Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio told Skift in emailed responses. These efforts largely focus on making it easier for tourists to enter the country, as well as strengthening opportunities for foreign and private
