The international airport of Rio de Janeiro hosted a true Brazilian party to commemorate what was called #TourismThatTransforms, which marked the country's momentum on the global stage: in 2023, foreign visitors left 6.9 billion dollars in the Brazilian economy . This amount exceeds that of 2014, when, during the World Cup in Brazil, the inflow of foreign currency was 6.8 billion dollars, and is the largest since 1995.
According to EMBRATUR (Visit Brasil), the 2024 Brazilian Carnival should receive around 200,000 international tourists and these visitors are expected to leave around US$200 million in income. To celebrate the result, a flight from the Chilean airline SKY was chosen for a special reception, with lots of music, food and dancing.
And there is more to celebrate. In 2023, Brazil also recovered pre-pandemic levels in tourist arrivals, with approximately 6 million foreign visitors. The figure was 3% higher than estimated by the UNWTO and also 62.7% higher than that of 2022 (3.6 million).
On the occasion, EMBRATUR and the city of Rio de Janeiro also signed an important alliance based on the UNWTO guidelines for Monitoring the Sustainability of Tourism, with the aim of creating the “Rio de Janeiro Tourism Sustainability Index.” . The work will serve as a future reference for other tourist cities in Brazil, which will contribute to EMBRATUR in the generation of intelligence. Among the examples of studies, it will be possible to measure the impacts of the Rio Carnival on the city's productive chain over the course of a year.
Another technical cooperation agreement was signed with the Chilean airline SKY, to share data and work together on actions to expand connectivity between Brazil and South America, with the launch of new routes and the increase in the frequency of existing ones.
"President Lula, at the beginning of 2023, said something that we use to talk about Brazil. He said that Brazil is back. The Brazil of democracy, sustainability, climate responsibility, culture, the appreciation of artists. And in 2024 , said that Brazil is taking off. We should all celebrate. We have overcome the difficult period of the COVID pandemic, of the absence of dialogue, of a radicalization that takes us nowhere, and we are entering a time of dialogue, of reaffirmation of democracy, of investment, and Brazil is ready, with open arms to welcome everyone,” said Marcelo Freixo, president of EMBRATUR (Visit Brazil).