The year 2024 was the best in history for international tourism in Brazil. Proof of this is that the country reached a record number of 6,657,377 foreign tourists in the year, a growth of 12.6% compared to 2023. The consolidated data were released this Tuesday (07) by the Ministry of Tourism (MTur), Embratur and Federal Police (PF). In December alone, 690,236 foreigners visited Brazil, a figure 11.1% higher than that recorded in the same month of 2023 and the third best December in the historical series that began in 1995.
Embratur President Marcelo Freixo attributed the results to the success of the international promotion work carried out by the Agency in the last two years. “At Embratur we managed to structure the promotion of Brazil abroad with innovative programs and projects, which are being copied around the world. It is an efficient policy and the result is felt by the Brazilian people in every region of the country. This significant growth that we had in 2023 and 2024 will continue in the coming years, and Brazilian tourism is beginning to turn an important page from being a potential to becoming a reality, a segment of the economy that is a protagonist in the generation of jobs and income, attracting international income, and an economic development model that can be an ally of the environment,” he explained.
Tourism Minister Celso Sabino also celebrated the milestone. “It is a joy to be able to publish such positive figures for our country. This increase reflects our work to promote Brazil’s image abroad. Strategic advertising campaigns, structuring of destinations, participation in international fairs, our UN Tourism office in Rio de Janeiro and the strengthening of partnerships within and outside the country boosted our visibility, highlighting the diversity of experiences that Brazil has to offer, such as natural landscapes, resources and our cultural heritage,” he commented.
The states of São Paulo (2,207,015), Rio de Janeiro (1,513,235), Paraná (894,536) and Rio Grande do Sul (879,412) emerged as the main entry points for these visitors in 2024. Proportionately, states such as Roraima (97%), Santa Catarina (71.7%), Bahia (52.8%) and Pará (47.4%), which will host COP30 at the end of the year, have recorded significant increases in the number of foreigners in their territories.
The brothers continue to lead the volume of international visitors arriving in Brazil. More than 1,953,548 Argentines arrived in the country this year. The United States is in second place, with 696,512 tourists. Chileans follow closely behind, with 651,776 arrivals to Brazilian destinations. Neighboring countries Paraguay and Uruguay, together, accounted for more than 833,412 arrivals to the country.
Two out of three international tourists arriving in Brazil do so by plane. This means of transport remains the main means of access for these visitors, while land transport accounts for 28.7% of the total.
According to Minister Celso Sabino, “the growth in the number of international visitors is one of the main objectives of the National Tourism Plan (PNT) 2024-2027, which aims to consolidate Brazil as the main tourist destination in South America.” “Our expectation is to surpass the mark of 8.1 million foreign tourists per year, generating more than 8.1 billion dollars in revenue and further strengthening the national economy,” he said.
By November 2024, the amount spent by foreign tourists in the country amounted to US$ 6.62 billion, the highest figure recorded in the first 11 months of the year since 1995. The figure is 5.3% higher than that recorded in the same period in 2023 (US$ 6.29 billion) and even exceeds the value of the same period in 2014 (US$ 6.3 billion), when the country hosted the World Cup.
Joint actions
In order to attract international tourists, the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with Embratur, has been working on different fronts. In December 2023, the first Office of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the Americas and the Caribbean was inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). As a result of intense coordination by the Brazilian government, the unit will definitively place the country among the largest global players in the sector, with the planning and adoption of actions in favor of the sustainable development of the entire region.
In addition, to reinforce the arrival of these tourists, MTur, in collaboration with Embratur, once again participated in major and strategic international events to promote Brazilian destinations. The action involves the dissemination of the “Brand Brazil”, an important initiative to rebuild the image of the country abroad, now duly committed to sustainability, diversity and inclusion in the tourism sector.
Brazil also launched the brand “Visit South America: one place, many worlds.” The strategy is an alliance between the Brazilian government and Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile to promote and position destinations in these countries internationally in an integrated manner, focusing on natural, gastronomic and hotel attractions.
Future By 2025, the Federal Government announced that the new regionalized announcements of the International Tourism Acceleration Program (PATI), a program executed by Embratur, with resources from the National Civil Aviation Fund (FNAC), arising from an alliance between MTur and the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor), have planned investments of R$ 63.6 million to attract new flights on domestic routes.
At least 500,000 new seats are expected to be offered in one year. This figure already represents a record number of international flight seats for the 2024/2025 summer season: 7.48 million, an increase of 19% compared to the summer of 2023/2024.
In addition, Brazil will host important events this year, such as the United Nations Climate Conference, COP 30, which will be held in Belém, Pará, and the BRICS meeting in Brasilia, which will attract thousands of international visitors to the country.
Source: Embratur.