Embratur President Vinicius Lummertz celebrated the results of the electronic visa concession for tourists from the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. According to the Ministry of Tourism, only in the carnival period, 400,000 foreign tourists are expected to have joined Brazil , injecting in the economy R $ 11.4 billion, in addition to 10.7 million domestic tourists. The consolidated figures are due to be presented in the next few days, Lummertz said Wednesday (14) to Agência Brasil.

For the president of Embratur, the electronic visa is a great change in the strategy of internationalization of tourism in Brazil. The United States Travel Agency Association (USTOA) expects to double the number of American tourists visiting Brazil because of this facilitation. The same happens in relation to the other countries that already have the electronic visa.

Lummertz noted, however, that this requires time. “But the reaction was immediate.” Home-based travel agents, called home brokers, are also hoping that overcoming this barrier will make it much easier for Americans and Canadians to come here.

The president of the Brazilian Hotel Industry Association (ABIH), Manoel Linhares, told Agencia Brasil that the electronic visa will greatly facilitate the entry of tourists from the US and other countries to Brazil. “Undoubtedly, the tendency is to improve more and more the entry of Americans, who are the second destination that Brazil receives, after Argentina.”

During the parade of the samba schools of the Special Group in Rio de Janeiro, the president of Embratur received the first group of 74 Australians who made the electronic visa. He considered this a “beautiful sample” of the importance of this action. The vice president of the Australian Hospitality Association, Lyn Humphreys, said the move pleased Australians, who needed to make long trips to Brazil’s consulates in Brazil and now get the visa on the internet in only 72 hours, compared to two months above.

Internationalization effort

The holder of Embratur made it clear, on the other hand, that it is also part of this effort to internationalize Brazilian tourism projects that are in the National Congress. Among them, the Open Skies, which increases the number of flights from the United States per week to Brazil; the opening of the capital of the airlines to the foreign capital, to increase the conditions of competitiveness of the country; and the transformation of Embratur into an independent agency, so that it can compete with more agility in the world market.

The World Economic Forum defines Brazil as having the greatest natural potential for tourism among all countries in the world. Lummertz stressed that the country has a potential of natural parks, coastal and historic cities that has not yet been fully developed.

China

A next step, according to Lummertz, will open the Chinese market for Brazilian tourism. China is currently the largest investor in Brazil and its largest trading partner. The goal is to seek out some of the 120 million Chinese tourists who travel the world, not just for leisure travel, but also for business and events. Of this total of 120 million Chinese tourists, Brazil receives only 55 thousand.

“We need to increase the connection with them. And the way to connect with China is the air, “he said. China currently invests about $ 5 trillion to modernize the silk routes, approaching 65 countries in Eurasia and Europe. “Many countries will benefit from this trade with the fastest-growing country in the world, the more it accumulates capital and the more it invests in the world,” said Lummertz, who said that the possibility of granting concessions is already under discussion within the ministries of foreign affairs and tourism. of the electronic visa also for the Chinese tourist.

According to Lummertz, Brazil has a share of 1% in international trade and only 0.7% in global tourism. To increase this, he said that it is necessary to go through the path of tourism and travel, the improvement of airports and more investments.

The president of Embratur estimated that only from the reduction of bureaucracy, Brazil could attract more investments. “We need external investments to come to tourism as well”, because from this will create more jobs, improving the lives of citizens in socio-economic terms, and increase the collection of taxes for governments. “We can not miss the potential that tourism has,” he said.

Season

Lummertz said that this is already the biggest summer season for Brazil, in terms of attracting foreign tourists. Only in Argentina, 2.5 million tourists came to the country, representing a turnover in the economy of US $ 1.5 billion.

The Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero) estimates that 2.6 million travelers passed through the main national airports during this year’s carnival. The number represents a growth of 4.7% in relation to the movement registered in the same period of 2017, when the flow was 2.5 million shipments and landings, about 100 thousand more than in 2016.

The most sought after cities in the period were Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Recife and Olinda. Together, the six destinations accounted for 65% of all financial transactions in the period, reaching R $ 7.4 billion. The Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies (ABAV) estimates that sales of travel packages increased by 15% over the same period of 2017 until the end of Carnival.

Source: Agência Brasil
Photo: Fernando Grilli / Riotur