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After daunting 2021, Brazil exceeds 1 million foreign visitors by May

daunting foreign tourists ESB Professional/Shutterstock
Photo: ESB Professional/Shutterstock

From January to May, Brazil welcomed more than 1 million international tourists. This mark has not been exceeded since 2020, the first year of the pandemic, when 1.8 million tourists entered the country. 

According to a survey by Brazil’s tourism board Embratur, by April, 962,000 people had arrived in Brazil on tourist visas, 60 percent more than in the entirety of 2021. Per the institution, the number proves the resumption of tourism in Brazil.

The survey also indicates growth in Brazil’s international air network in May, with a volume representing almost 75 percent of 2019’s capacity, per data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac). The number of monthly flights reached 3,547, more than 300 percent above the same month last year.

Moreover, from January to May, 84 international flight routes were either created or resumed. The industry estimate is that by February 2023 there will be an increase of 122 flights, originating from 17 different countries.

The pandemic made the numbers of the tourism sector plummet like never before, not only in Brazil. And it was not just foreign tourists who stopped visiting the country. Brazilians also ended up traveling much less during the health crisis. The number of trips taken last year, for example, was 41 percent lower compared to 2019.