Brazil ends 2025 with historic record of more than 9 million international tourists

With only a few days left this year, Brazil has already registered the arrival of 9 million international tourists in 2025. Marking a historic record for Brazil’s tourism, the number exceeds by 30% the forecast for this year, which was 6.9 million, according to the National Tourism Plan (PNT) 2024-2027.

“Reaching the milestone of 9 million international tourists by 2025 shows that Brazil has definitively returned to the world tourism map. It is a historic number that generates jobs, income, and development in all regions of the country, in addition to reinforcing tourism as one of the great drivers of our economy”, highlighted Marcelo Freixo, president of Embratur/Visit Brasil.

The good news is followed by recent figures that predict 2026 will continue seeing more growth in international tourist arrivals. A survey – conducted by Embratur on December 5th – revealed a 23.2% increase in international airline ticket sales for the Carnival period, comparing 2025 and 2026. From February 7th to 15th, 2026, there were already 88,600 reservations.

For Summer 2026, one of the most attractive seasons for international tourists, from December 21st to March 20th, the purchase of airline tickets reached 756,350. This figure is 6.6% higher than the period from December 21, 2024 to March 20, 2025. The markets with the highest growth are Argentina, Chile, the United States, Portugal and France.

The New Year's Eve celebrations across Brasil will also boost the tourism sector. From Christmas Day to December 31st, ticket purchases by foreign visitors totalled 101,117. This number is 7.5% higher than the figure for the same period of 2024.

The survey considered the 13 states that operate international routes in the country: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Federal District, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Bahia, Ceará, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, and Pará.

The number of flights to Brazil from January to November 2025 also reflects this increase. According to Embratur's data panel, in 11 months the country registered 68,872 landings from abroad. This number is 17.7% higher than that recorded in the same period last year, when it was 58,473.

Main Source Countries

In 2025, Argentina stood out as the largest source country for tourists to Brazil. In 11 months, Brazilian destinations registered the arrival of 3.1 million Argentinians, a total 82.1% higher than in the same period of 2024. Second place goes to Chile, with 721,497 arrivals between January and November 2025. In percentage terms, this represents a growth of 24.4%. In third place are the United States, with 677,888 arrivals and a growth of 5.8%, followed by Uruguay with 487,514 tourists and a 37.2% increase compared to the period from January to November 2024. In fifth position is Paraguay, with 454,327 foreign arrivals, a growth of 14.4%.

The UK contributed with 169,319 travellers from January to November 2025,  an increase of 22.02% in comparison to the same period in 2024.

Gateways

São Paulo remains the Brazilian state that received the most international tourists in 2025, with almost 2.5 million (2,494,632) arrivals. Rio de Janeiro comes next, with 1,972,928 foreign tourists. Rio Grande do Sul occupies third place and registered 1,431,795 arrivals. 958,015 international visitors arrived in Paraná between January and November of this year, placing the state as the fourth largest gateway, and Santa Catarina completes the top five positions, with 651,980 arrivals.

Revenue influx

A year of international tourists record-breaking arrivals, 2025 should also be marked by the highest volume in history in revenues generated by international tourism in Brazil. From January to November of this year, international visitors left US$ 7.17 billion in the country's economy. This figure is 8.41% higher compared to the same period last year and very close to the total for 2024, which was US$ 7.3 billion, according to data released by the Central Bank.

In November alone, the value of these inflows reached US$ 560 million. The figures reflect the impressive performance in the arrival of international tourists, also indicating the efforts of Embratur alongside the Federal Government, states, municipalities and the entire private sector in the international promotion of Brazil, positioning the country as a competitive, attractive and strategic destination in the global travel market.

Source: Embratur.