Turismo

Economic Growth and Tourism in Brazil

Brazil is a beautiful country by its natural beauties, population and size. The economy of Brazil is growing quickly in recent years. Tourism has been one of the activities which has contributed to this outstonishing gorwth.

Brazil is one of the four largest developing economies in the world (the three others being China, India and Russia) and according to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 Brazil will be the world’s 5th biggest economy. The coutnry itself takes part in the G-8 meeting wich has taken place in Germany with four other developing countries of the world.

The country has been promoting strongly the tourist sector for its importance internationally wide and its contributin to the growht of the internal product. The tourist sector is an economic activity veryimportant in the promotion of employment and generation of income for the country globally and for the local populations affected by the tourism activities.

Local and international confidence in the Brazilian administration has grown rapidly the last years and this confidence has been based upon the government’s sustained and so far successful policies to create a far more resilient economy with reduced inflation, a stable currency and strong export performance.

The Brazilian economy has been outstanding for a couple of activities and outgrowing services as the following shows:

• It possesses the largest and most diversified industrial park in Latin America and the Caribbean

• The country is the largest world producer of coffee, oranges and sugarcane

• It is one of the world’s leading producer of commercial jets

• Has one of the most modern and cutting edge banking systems in the world

• Is the eight largest producer of steel in the world

• Has the seventh largest chemical industry in the world

• Is the third largest shoe producer in the world and has a highly competitive leather industry

• Has the fifth largest rubber industry in the world

• Has 22 % of the world’s arable land

• Has a modern and competitive textile industry which trades 21 billion $ per year

• Compared to most developed countries, the Brazilian population is very young and hence offers the country a bright future.

Brazil possesses all the natural and social resources attractive to tourism: sun, beach, nature, culture and history. It has an extraordinary coastal line of 8,000 km, tropical climate and is free of the bulk of natural manaces which affect other countries. All this makes the country an outstanding potential destination for international tourism in comparison with many other coutries. The tourism industry has grown wuickly in Brazil due to all its favorable conditions.

Until a few years ago, the tourism sector was jeopardized by the limited development of infrastructure and the lack of foreign promotion policy and constant planning for the development of different tourist destinations. However things have changed the last years and the authorities realizes the importance of tourism as a source of foreign currency and as a sector generating employment and income (last year 210 000 jobs very created due to increasing tourism).

The tourism sector is now a top priority in the government’s agenda. When the new government took office in 2003, they created the Ministry of Tourism (which did not exist before) and they have already more than doubled the number of international events and fairs promoting tourism in Brazil.

The last years investments in excess of 736 million $ have been made in improving the infrastructure; improvement works in several airports, the construction and improvement of road and draining systems, historical heritage recovery and environmental preservation. The efforts are now clearly starting to pay off while at the same time further infrastructure investments of hundreds of millions $ are being carried out.

The number of international tourists visiting Brazil has increased the last years from 3,7 million in 2002, to 5,5 million in 2005 ( 48% increase). To put things in perspective, last year tiny Puerto Rico was visited by a little bit more than 3 million tourists. Brazil being the 5th biggest country in the world, it clearly shows that international tourism in Brazil has huge potential for further development.

Under the Governments National Tourism Plan the specific objectives for the next years are to:

• Attract over 9 million foreign tourists annually

• Generate 1,200,000 new jobs

• Receive 8 billion dollars in foreign currency

• To diversify the tourism offer (develop at the least three quality products in each of the states of the federation)

• To increase the average spending/tourist

• Increase number of domestic travelers to 65 million annually

Studies carried out by Ministry of Tourism indicate that 75% of the tourists who seek Brazil as their vacation destination do so first of all because of the natural beauty. But once they arrive here, they find such hospitality that they soon become enchanted with the mixture of colors, races and cultures of the people as well. In a recent survey, 96% of the tourists visiting Brazil intend to come back again! That if anything, gives confidence in the growing tourism industry in this exciting country.

The main tourist areas in Brazil- the Northeast

The Northeast of Brazil is the main “sun and beach” destination in the country and is also the area that is receiving most of the investments and attention on an international level. Main reasons are the near perfect climate and the numerous semi-virgin beaches along its beautiful coastline. The weather in the North East is the best in the entire country with a yearly average temperature of 27 degrees and is stable and sunny virtually all year around. In addition, the northeast is the closest point to Europe from Latin America and flying time is approx. 7-8 hours. Further, compared to many tropical destinations, Brazil benefit from a complete lack of natural phenomena such as hurricanes and tropical storms nor is it affected by earthquakes.

The major tour operators have now realized Brazil’s tourism potential and are fast adding Brazil to their offer. Thomson Holidays added Brazil to their offer at the beginning of this year and according to Thomson, it’s the amazing beaches and the vibrant culture of music, food and drinks that makes the Northeast of Brazil such an attractive tourist destination. International groups are investing billions in new hotels and resorts in the northeast of Brazil. The internationally well know resort, Club Med, has three resorts in South America, it is no coincidence that all three are located in Brazil.

The scenery and beaches in the Northeast of Brazil are quite simply breathtaking, The cost of living is up to 20% lower than in the UK, property prices are incredibly cheap and the area is highly accessible with daily flight from most major European countries.

Even though the Northeast of Brazil is considered an emerging tourist destination for foreigners, it does not mean that tourism is a something new in this part of the world. Brazil has a population of approx. 180 million people and when Brazilians plan their holidays, they don’t have to look any further than their own border and they usually head to the Northeast.

As a result of this, Brazilian tourists have been coming to the Northeast for decades and there is a waste range of tourist attractions at hand. Activities range from beach buggy tours along the beautiful nearly deserted beaches, diving and snorkeling, visiting historical sites and a very wide range of water sports to be enjoyed.

João Pessoa - Government focus on Brazil beach destination.

João Pessoa, or as it is also called- The city of the Sun has established itself as the leading beach tourism destination in Brazil and benefits from the best climate in the country; the yearly average temperature is 27 degrees and the weather is stable and sunny virtually all year around. Located at the extreme northeast tip of Brazil, Natal is the closest point to Europe from Latin America and flying time is approx. 7-8 hours from central Europe. Thomson Holidays added Brazil to their offer at the beginning of this year, and to no surprise the chosen location was Natal.

Natal is a peaceful city while at the same time being a modern one with shopping malls, bars and restaurants offering international level cuisine and facilities that put it on a par with any Brazilian state capital. Its main attraction is its coastline, with over 400km of beaches, dunes and small pieces of paradise. Natal is also the safest state capital in Brazil and in addition, according to the research done by NASA, Natal has the purest air on the continent and second purest in the world, loosing only to Antarctica!!

The local government has been very active in promoting and supporting tourism and the area has seen massive investments in improving the infrastructure. In the next five years, investments in new hotels, golf courses, resorts and condos should exceed R$ 4 billion (about US$ 1.8 billion) on the coastline of Natal, the equivalent to 8% of all foreigner investments that the entire Brazilian economy received last year.

Due to the booming tourism and enormous potential for further growth, the government has decided to build a new airport in Natal which will be the biggest airport in South America (will be 8th biggest in the world) and is due to be ready by June 2009. This will further confirm Natal’s position as the number 1 tourist location in Brazil.

As mentioned before, domestic tourism is also strong in the northeast of Brazil. In January 2005, Natal received, 197 domestic charter flights, more than six per day and for the whole year more than 1,7 million domestic tourists arrived in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

In 2002, the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Natal is the state capital) received 147.000 foreign tourists. In 2005 this number was 344.000, an increase of 134%. For the same time period, the increase of foreign tourism in Brazil was 48%, which clearly shows that Natal is the area leading the boom in tourism.