Brazilian tourism industry’s rebound is real

Brazil’s tourism industry is having a stellar 2023, with 2.7 million international tourists visiting the country in the first four months of the year. At that pace, the country is set to break the 2018 all-time record for a calendar year, when it hosted 6.6 million tourists. 

The numbers are bonafide evidence of the recovery of an industry that was grounded to a halt by Covid and is still struggling to find its pre-pandemic form. The International Air Travel Association (IATA) expects international tourism figures to reach 93 percent of their 2019 results this year. But Latin America, which “has shown buoyancy,” according to IATA, is set to be the first region to reach post-pandemic levels.

Latam Airlines, a market leader in the region, reported a 26 percent yearly increase in international travel in Q1 2023. For Brazil, Latam reported that domestic travel is up by nearly 20 percent. These numbers echo positive results also posted by Gol, Brazil’s largest domestic airline. In Q1, Gol carried 6.7 million passengers — 49 percent more than in Q1 2022. The company tells The Brazilian Report that it is bullish about 2023.

“Domestic flights have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and it is reasonable to say that the scenario is normalized,” the National Civil Aviation Agency recently said, although adding that it believes that the full recovery will be slower.