Domestic flights have already recovered 80% of passenger levels that existed before the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, according to the minister of Tourism, Gilson Machado. In an interview with Agency Brazil, during a visit to Expo 2020 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Machado said that the airline Azul has even surpassed its pre-pandemic numbers.
“O hub Recife, for example, already has 115% of air flow. We also see hotel reservations at the end of the year, there are practically no more hotels in the Northeast of Brazil, in ecotourism addresses, in Natal Luz de Gramado and Canela”, said the minister.
International flights, however, are still far from recovery. According to Machado, air connections with abroad currently move only 30% of passengers from before covid-19.
Gilson Machado arrived in Dubai with the message that he intends to increase the number of international tourists who travel to Brazil and increase foreign investment in the country’s tourism infrastructure. He believes that after the pandemic, many will want to have contact with nature, which would be a strong Brazilian asset.
But for that, it would be necessary to invest in promoting Brazil abroad. “We are fighting for resources for this, because the fight for the international tourist is like a big dog fight. Tourism is money in the vein of the economy. Today, we see a country like Mexico, which has US$ 500 million to promote its country abroad. That’s why Mexico receives almost ten times more foreign tourists than Brazil. We are fighting together with the National Congress, so that Embratur has more resources”, he added.
The goal is to reach a level of 12 million international visitors, double the record already registered in the country, which was reached in 2018, with 6.62 million. In the two previous years, the numbers were also close to 6.6 million. In 2019, it was expected to hit the 7 million mark, due to visa waivers for Americans, Canadians, Japanese and Australians.
According to the minister, however, the economic crisis in Argentina, the main source of tourists to Brazil, representing more than a third of the total, frustrated expectations, and Brazil received only 6.35 million international visitors.
*Reporter Vitor Abdala and photographer Marcelo Camargo traveled at the invitation of Apex-Brasil
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