TOURISM ESSENTIAL IN QUEST FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Brazil offers more than just beaches and boasts cosmopolitan cities renowned for their architecture, music, and folklore

If Brazil has not yet registered on the world’s radar as a significant presence, not only in terms of an unparalleled tourist destination, which has one of the largest populations and economies on the globe, it will soon. Industry officials are hard at work to change the international perception of this magnificent and massive country and are stepping up promotional activities in international tourism events worldwide. The recent creation of a tourism ministry is evidence of President Lula’s faith in the tourism industry to turn lesser developed regions around.

Minister of Tourism, Mr. Walfrido Mares Guia, comments, “President Lula understands that tourism is a very important tool in increasing the economic and social development of Brazil, and therefore tourism has been given top priority. We have specific plans to promote tourism in the lesser-developed areas that hold high potential.”
In the National Tourism Plan, launched in April of last year, the government established a target of 9 million tourists annually by the year 2007, creating a million new jobs. This represents a substantial increase over the 2.8 million who visited the country in 2002, resulting in a disappointing 29th placement for Brazil among the world’s major tourist destinations. To this end, public investments to the tune of $400 million are destined for infrastructure improvements in the country’s northeast region, according to Minister Mares Guia, and a further $200 million has been allocated for the development of eco-tourism in the Amazon. In southern Brazil, the government is counting on an influx of tourists from neighboring Mercosur countries and is working to improve road and transport links to allow more convenient accessibility for these regional visitors. Americans currently account for only 12% of Brazil’s visitors, and 700,000 U.S. tourists visited the country in 2002. Mr. Mares Guia says, “It is of paramount importance to communicate to the world the diversity of the tourism product in Brazil. We have traditionally been renowned for our beaches, but there is so much more within Brazil.”

WALFRIDO MARES GUIA Walfrido mares guia Minister of Tourism

GILBERTO GIL Minister of Culture

He is right. Lush interiors, vast river networks and rainforest, over 5,000 miles of coastline, numerous natural heritage sites – the country is an amazing array of landscapes and colors. Of special mention is Fernando de Noronha in the northeast, an area comprising 21 small islands, islets, and crags atop a submerged volcano, and perhaps one of the country’s best-kept secrets. The neighboring beaches of Baía do Sancho, Baía dos Porcos, and Praia do Leão number among the 10 most breathtaking beaches in the country.

Brazil also offers a fascinating mix of cultures, music, and customs. Minister of Culture, Mr. Gilberto Gil, elaborates, “I think that one of the opportunities we have here lies in our cultural variety. For instance, the south coast has a more European feeling. In Rio or Bahia and Pernambuco in the northeast, there is the black culture and the Carnival. Then we have the Amazon and the Indians, and the element of biodiversity. We have cosmopolitan cities like São Paulo and we have cities that are known for their architecture such as Brasilia. And linking all of this, permeating it all, is our world famous music and our folklore.”