The number means an increase of 100,000 visitors compared to the same month in 2019 and 2020, prior to the pandemic. Compared to December 2022, the growth was 109 percent.
According to the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of International Tourism, Embratur, more than 1.28 million foreign visitors will have enjoyed the Brazilian summer by the end of March. Most are Argentine and American, as well as Portuguese, Chilean and Italian, in that order. The main destinations visited are Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Florianópolis, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Curitiba and Brasilia.
Despite the improvement, Embratur estimates that the resumption of Brazilian tourism in 2022 was slow compared to the global average. The regions with the best results in the recovery of international tourism post-pandemic were the Middle East (83%) and Europe (80%). China, which is the world's largest source of tourists and maintained restrictions on international travel last year, accounted for 63% of the flow of tourists compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
In January, foreign visitors spent US$604 million in the country, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism and the Central Bank of Brazil. The figure represents an increase of 3.8% compared to January 2020, when US$582 million was spent.
Last year, Brazil received 3,630,031 international tourists, of which 28.4% came from Argentina (1,032,762), the United States (441,007), Paraguay (308,234), Chile (202,470) and Uruguay (180,064).