International tourists who visited Brazil during 2023 left a record amount of US$ 6,9 billion (R$ 34,5 billion) in the country, according to data from the Central Bank (Bacen) released this Monday (05.02.24). The value exceeds by 1.5% the highest revenue from international tourism, recorded in 2014, the year in which the country hosted the FIFA World Cup. A decade ago, foreign visitors left a total of US$ 6,8 billion in our economy.
The goal established in the National Tourism Plan was an increase in revenue generated by international tourism of 8.58% in 2023, but the result was an annual growth of 41%. In 2022, international tourists left US$ 4,9 billion in Brazil. The new National Tourism Plan, approved at the end of January 2024 by the National Tourism Council, sets the target of reaching the amount of US$ 8,1 billion in 2027.
“This historic result is a consequence of the work carried out by the Lula government, which reconnected Brazil with the world after 4 years of international isolation. The president always states that the Brazil of democracy, diversity, sustainability and respect has returned. The world got the message and is embracing our country. We are very proud to be part of this history and to be able to help tourism generate jobs, income and improve the lives of Brazilians”, said Marcelo Freixo, the president of the Brazilian Tourism Board (Visit Brasil/Embratur).
The milestone comes in a year of resumption of tourism. In 2023, the arrival of international tourists was at the same levels as in the pre-Covid-19 pandemic period: there were approximately 6 million visitors. The level was 3% above the estimate by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a specialized UN agency. Furthermore, the number of international tourists in 2023 corresponds to 93% of the arrivals in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. The numbers of visitors from abroad are from Embratur's Data Management in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism (MTur) and the Federal Police (PF).
Country ranking
In 2023, Argentina continued to be the main country sending tourists to Brazil, with 1,9 million visitors (32% of the total). The second country is the United States with 668,500 (11%). Chile comes third with 458,500 (7.7%), followed by Paraguay with 424,500 (7.1%) and Uruguay with 334,700 (5.6%). France is the main country in Europe to send tourists to Brazil, appearing in sixth place with 187,500 visitors (3.1%), followed by Portugal with 158,500 (3%) and Germany with 158,000 (2.6%). The United Kingdom shows up at 9th place with 130,200 tourists (2.2%), and Italy with 129,000 (2.2%) completes the Top 10 countries.
Connectivity
The record in foreign income and the resumption in the number of international tourists equivalent to those in the pre-pandemic period are due, among other factors, to a series of actions by Embratur, including increased connectivity. In this case, in both 2019 and 2023 the number of flights offered by airlines was 64,800. This amount is more than 40% higher than the figure in 2022, when the supply was 46,200.
Regarding the number of seats on flights, 2023 had a supply 32.47% higher than 2022. It went from 9,7 million in the year before last to 12,9 million last year, a figure that corresponds to 89.16% of the supply in 2019, 14,5 million. The sums are part of a survey of international tourist arrivals in Brazil by Embratur's Information and Data Intelligence Management.
According to a sector analysis, the recovery of supply is important as air travel is the main means of arrival for international tourists in Brazil. The survey was prepared considering the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Importance decreed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May 2023.