Tourists are finally falling for ‘dangerous' Brazil

Telegraph

17-05-2025

Brazil goes up and down like a samba dancer when it comes to public perception. Rio is feted as timeless jet-setter playground and damned as crime-ridden hellhole. The Amazon is the biggest, most species-rich forest on earth – and the saddest deforestation story. São Paulo is a culture, food and art powerhouse, and what happens when no one plans properly for a population of nearly 20 million, all in cars, some with guns, lots in shanties.
For travellers, the message has been mixed both at home and abroad. The Foreign Office's (FCDOs) security map is green for almost the entire nation – which is massive, of course – and, given the bleak situation, there's not much competition at all on the eastern side of South America. The only orange ('all but essential travel') areas are those riverine parts west of Amazonas state where ' armed groups, including pirates and drug traffickers ' operate. The FCDO also highlights the prevalence of street theft, car-jacking and scams, especially in urban areas.
The 2019-2023 Bolsonaro government showed scant interest in foreign tourism; homophobic remarks by the president undermined the country's reputation for tolerance. Prior to the pandemic, a World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report showed just 5.7 per cent of Brazil's annual tourism income derived from foreign arrivals.
But now, things seem to be on the turn. According to the national tourist board, Embratur, 2024 was the best year 'in history' for international tourism in Brazil. A record 6.65m foreign tourists were reported, an increase of 12.6 per cent compared to 2023. During the first three months of the current year, Brazil received 3.74 million international visitors, the highest total for the period ever, and more than a half of last year's total already.
What has changed? Promotional expenditure for one thing. Embratur was granted a sizeable budget of R$200 million (£26.7 million) in 2024. A few days ago, the Ministry of Tourism released a further US$7m (£5.3 million) using funds from revenues accrued through sports betting – under a new scheme that allocates 28 per cent of taxes on net profits from betting to tourism. A lot of the money goes on dry stuff – strategic advertising campaigns, participation in international fairs, a UN Tourism office in Rio de Janeiro, strengthening of partnerships – but these are needed to win in a highly competitive global tourism market.
As international tourism revenues for 2024 were up six per cent to $7.3 billion (£5.5 bn) – with an official target of $8.1 billion (£6.1bn) by 2027 – there's plenty in the pot to support the tourism ministry and Embratur.
Earlier this month, more than two million people attended a free Lady Gaga concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. It was her biggest ever show, paid for by the city government. Madonna did a similar event in May 2024. Headlines obviously strengthen Rio's international image – its beaches, framed by Sugar Loaf and the Christ the Reedemer, always look amazing – and underline its safety and security.
Two out of every three international tourists arriving in Brazil come by plane. São Paulo, Brazil's primary air hub – Guarulhos airport is the busiest in Latin America – led for international tourist arrivals during March, with 277,266 visitors. Rio de Janeiro followed with 241,812 arrivals. This year, several millions are being spent to add a further 500,000 plane seats to international arrivals.
In April, Embratur launched ' Feel Brazil,' a digital platform aimed at spreading the growth around the country. Some 101 suggestions, in sixty-one areas, range from Bahian cookery classes to cycling around Recife to black heritage 'Afro-tourism' in Minas Gerais.
Simon Williams of Humboldt Travel says: 'Embratur have finally, in Simone Scorsato [formerly CEO of the Brazil Luxury Travel Association] someone who gets how to promote Brazil internationally and their ad campaigns have been significantly improved, no longer just focussing on sand and buttocks.
'I imagine Celebrity Race Around the World did some good with the UK market as it highlighted lesser-known areas such as Chapada Diamantina and the Lençois Maranhenses national park.' The latter – a marvel of coastal dunes and lagoons – was made a Unesco World Heritage site in 2024.
A lot of the groundwork took place a decade ago. Brazil hosted the World Cup in 2014 and Rio hosted the 2016 Olympics. New transport and buildings came with the latter, including a superb new art gallery (MAR) in downtown Rio and a rebuilt dockside nearby, centred around the Museum of Tomorrow. At the end of the Fifties, Brasilia announced to the world that Brazil was the future. This idea has never quite been lost and there is something quite special in the way Brazil is simultaneously ultra-modern and old-fashioned, natural and urban, coastal and yet with a chunk of its soul deep in the jungle.
Some Brazilian brands never fade. Flip flops, skimpy swimwear, capoeira, carnival, that yellow and green flag and football shirt – all are symbols of national identity. The country's informality is allied to an inimitable casual sensuousness. But Brazil can also deliver high culture that Argentina, Colombia and other would-be rivals can't match. São Paulo's art biennial – which takes place later this year – is a world-class event.
The Carnival, for all the clichés, remains a global draw; foreign visitors who don't want to join the Rio crowds can choose equally committed but less glitzy shows in Salvador and Recife. There are also some quirky gatherings, like the German-style Oktoberfest in Blumenau in the more 'European' south of the country, the bizarre Bumba Meu Boi (Dance My Ox) traditions in São Luis, the Cirio de Nazaré festival in Belém – which attracts up to two million faithful – and New Year's Eve parties all over the country.
More sober events during 2025 include the UN Climate Conference, Cop30, which will be held in Belém, and the BRICS meeting in Brasília. Both will attract thousands of international visitors to the country.
There's an organic ebb and flow of international interest in major nations. Brazil has many of the classic assets that garner international attention and are associated with style, money and 'sexiness': fashion, football, music, dance, beach culture (including Olympics-final standard volleyball) and gastronomy are all national strengths. It has a reputation for equality in race and gender, though the hard stats – especially on the former – never come close to the PR.
The 'historic' new tourism stats, too, merit a degree of deconstruction. The largest group of international tourists, by far, are Argentinians. Almost two million of them landed in Brazil in 2024. The United States occupied the second position, having sent almost 700,000 tourists. These numbers may also roll into early 2025, as new visa restrictions came into force on April 10 2025. Brazil suspended tit-for-tat legislation three times but, recognising the Trump administration was not going to opt for reciprocal non-visa travel, finally passed the law that will inevitably deter some US tourists.
Chileans come in close behind, with 651,000 arrivals to Brazilian destinations. Neighbouring countries Paraguay and Uruguay, together, accounted for more than 833,000 entries into the country. So, Brazil is not quite the 'global destination' it probably wants to be, not yet.
Nevertheless, other numbers show room for optimism. The murder rate was down five per cent year on year in 2024 – the lowest number in 14 years. The poverty rate also fell for the third year running. Tourism-wise, after the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, two other important entry points were Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul.
The former contains the magnificent Iguaçu falls as well as the beaches of Guaratuba. The latter's main tourism treasure is the Pantanal wetlands, probably the best place in the hemisphere to see jaguar in the wild as well as the other member-species of the so-called Brazilian Big Five: giant otter, tapir, giant anteater and maned wolf.
The shift from the default beach holiday seems to be happening, and Brazil certainly has a lot more to offer besides 'sand and buttocks'. If the trend remains steady, and avoids any major wobbles, Brazil could finally become a mainstream destination like Mexico – which had 45 million international tourists in 2024. If you'd prefer to get ahead of the curve, now is the time to go.
Essentials
British Airways flies direct from London to Rio from £708 return. There's no shortage of introductory holidays to choose from – Trailfinders, for example, offers a 14-day Beautiful Brazil private tour from £3,179 per person (based on two sharing), and visiting Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu Falls, Búzios, Manaus and São Paulo (international flights extra).