The Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur) has launched a huge campaign that should bring considerably more visitors to the country. Embratur will promote the Brazilian tourism industry at 42 international trade fairs in 15 countries this year. Only in September, the Institute is going to present Brazil in the United States, Japan, Russia, and France. The campaign has already started at the popular fair La Cumbre, held in Fort Lauderdale, in the United States. Embratur plans to participate in The Trade Show, in Las Vegas, from September 9 to 11, and the IT&ME, in Chicago, from September 15 to 27.
Embratur sees its participation in big international tourism fairs as one of its main strategies for promoting Brazil as a destination abroad. "The fairs promote a positive image of Brazil in foreign countries, as they announce tourist destinations, products, and services in strategic markets, forecasted by Plano Aquarela (a tourism marketing project carried out by the Brazilian federal government), and at the same time they broaden the scope of business opportunities for our country," said the Business and Events director of Embratur, Marcelo Pedroso.
Foreign tourism generates huge sums of money for the Brazilian economy. In the first seven months of this year, foreign tourists spent US$ 2.8 billion in the country and Embratur expects that it will earn approximately US$ 4.8 billion by the end of this year. The fact is that the industry becomes more and more profitable. It has earned more money last year than in 2005 even though the number of tourists decreased. In 2006, revenues reached US$ 4.316 billion, which was an 11.77% increase over 2005 and the number of visitors decreased by 6.3%, from 5,358,170 in 2005 to 5,018,991 last year. The trend is that tourists in Brazil nowadays spend more and stay longer. The majority of the foreign visitors come from Europe and from South American countries.
