by Brian Major
Last updated: 1:05 PM ET, Wed April 23, 2025
Brazil hosted 3.74
million international visitors during the first three months of 2025, the
highest total for the period in the country’s history and more than one-half the
number of international travelers the South American nation reported during all
of 2024.
According to
data from Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, Embratur, the country’s international tourism
promotion agency, and Brazil’s Federal Police, Brazil’s 2025 international
arrivals represent a 47.8 percent increase over the first three months of 2024.
Brazil’s first-quarter
visitor arrivals increase includes a total of 929,096 international travelers hosted
during March, a 25.5 percent increase over March 2024. The São Paulo state, Brazil’s
primary air hub, led the country in international tourist arrivals during March,
with 277,266 visitors. Rio de Janeiro followed with 241,812 arrivals.
Other states reporting
increased March arrivals include Rio Grande do Sul, which hosted 168,507
international visitors, and Bahia, which hosted 17,583 international tourists during
March 2025.
Brazil hosted 6.65 million international tourists in 2024, an
increase 12.6 percent year-over-year increase compared with 2023. Foreign
tourists generated $7.3 billion in revenue for Brazil’s tourism sector last year,
representing eight percent of Brazil’s GDP, according to Embratur officials.
Brazil’s strong
first-quarter 2025 visitor arrivals were driven by “international promotion
actions and the strengthening of tourism infrastructure,” said Marcelo Freixo, Embratur’s
president.
“The growth
rate in the arrival of foreign visitors exceeds all expectations and the record
volume of international visitors translates into direct benefits for our
economy,” Freixo said.
"Our goal
is to continue at this pace and consolidate the country as one of the world's
leading tourist destinations," said Celso Sabino, Brazil’s minister of tourism.
Brazil’s
government last week launched “Feel Brazil,” a digital platform aimed at travel
advisors and consumers. The platform offers 101 tourism experiences available
across the country.
Feel Brazil’s
programs encompass tourism experience options in 61 municipalities, with 59
percent of programs led by women and more than 80 percent featuring “inclusive”
teams, said officials. The program additionally maintains “a commitment to
social and environmental sustainability.”
Featured
itineraries include tours of Amazonian rivers, bike rides along remote beaches and
traditional Bahian cooking lessons. Feel Brazil is designed to increase these
options’ visibility in the global market and “strengthen their
commercialization for international visitors,” said officials.
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