by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:45 PM ET, Mon May 14, 2018
Vinícius Lummertz, a former president of the Brazilian Tourism Board (EMBRATUR), was named Brazil's Minister of Tourism this past April. He is moving quickly on his goal to "modernize" Brazil's tourism sector by reducing bureaucracy and positioning travel to Brazil as critical to the country's economic growth-the success of which is tied to an ability to forge new, effective partnerships to promote the nation.
Lummertz's tourism initiatives will be directed by Teté Bezerra, whom Lummertz named this past week to fill his one-time position as EMBRATUR's president.
Bezerra is a former secretary of tourism in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso and a Brazilian Ministry of Tourism official who played a key role in creating Brazil's National Tourism Qualification Policy, said EMBRATUR officials in a statement.
Bezerra will "continue efforts and initiatives [including] the electronic visa for strategic markets like the United States" and "help EMBRATUR become a tourism promotion agency," she said.
"It's a big challenge," added Bezerra, "but we want a strong agency, capable of competing on the world stage. We currently invest $17 million in international promotion while our competitors invest between $50 and $100 million," she said. "We have to be more robust, to create partnerships and to promote Brazil abroad, through public relations, publicity and international events."
Travel to Brazil was made significantly easier for North Americans with this year's launch of the electronic visa program. Visa applications by Americans have increased 70 percent compared with the same period in 2017 since the January 25 launch.
Brazil hosted 6.6 million visitors in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available; Americans accounted for 550,000 of the visits. Americans represent Brazil's second-largest source of leisure travelers, trailing only neighboring Argentina.
Brazil recently gain additional airline service from LATAM Airlines, which in April launched a new direct flight from Miami International Airport to Salvador in Brazil's Bahia state.
The new service follows the Brazilian Senate's approval of an "Open Skies" agreement with the United States, removing the frequency limit of flights between the two countries, said EMBRATUR officials. The agreement covers operations including passenger and luggage transport, and cargo and mail handling.
Meanwhile Brazil's hotel sector is in the midst of a strong period. Brazilian hotels posted a 10.2 percent year-over-year increase in occupancy in January 2018, totaling 54.2 percent for the year-over-year period, according to data from travel and tourism research firm STR. Brazilian hotels' average daily rate (ADR) increased 1.4 percent while revenue per available room (RevPAR) jumped 11.7 percent during the same period.
The January 2018 occupancy jump in year-over-year was Brazil's highest for any month in Brazil since February 2011. The county has also reported four consecutive months of RevPAR growth, with three of the four producing double-figure increases. Prior to that stretch, the Brazil reported 13 consecutive months of RevPAR declines.
"Brazil endured sizeable performance decreases due to the economic recession [and] fluctuations and new supply impact that came with hosting the World Cup and the Rio Olympics," said Patricia Boo, STR's area director for Central/South America.
"As the economic environment and hotel supply situation continue to stabilize, hotels are seeing much more reliable demand growth that is helping occupancy levels," she said.
For the 12 months ending in January 2018, Brazil showed occupancy growth of 2.3 percent with an 11.2 percent ADR decline. Still, six of the country's key markets and cities registered year-over-year occupancy growth of around 10 percent for the period including Belo Horizonte (10.7 percent), Brasilia (10.2 percent), Manaus (10.0 percent), Fortaleza (9.8) percent, Salvador (9.0 percent) and Recife (8.3 percent).
While most of the key markets and cities showed negative ADR comparisons during this 12-month time period, Porto Alegre was an outlier with 7.1 percent ADR growth. Rio de Janeiro's 6.8 percent occupancy decrease and 34.3 percent ADR decline heavily influenced the country's overall performance for the 12-month time period, said STR.
Brazil's upcoming 2018 tourism calendar features these key events:
June-Festas Juninas
Celebrations date back to Portuguese colonization and commemorate Saint Anthony, Saint Peter and Saint John while marking the beginning of the Brazil's winter. Local celebrations are highlighted by dress-up contests, musical performances,'Festa Junina' cuisine and competitions.
July-Fortal 2018
Known as the off-season Carnival. Brazil's main Carnival's "Axé" parties took place in Bahia during the beginning of the year, leading Fortaleza to launch its own Axé party tradition in July 27 years ago. The four days of intense partying will feature shows and dancing.
September-Independence Day
One of Brazil's most important holidays celebrates the September 7, 1822 announcement of the country's independence from Portugal. The day of celebration will feature outdoors events, concerts, fireworks and a military parade in the Esplanada dos Ministerios.
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