It's easier than ever to travel to Brazil.
A faster visa process has led to a boom in U.S. visitors traveling to the country. Since the launch of e-visas on January 25, 2018, there has been a 70 percent increase in visa applications from American visitors compared to the same period last year. Sixty-five percent of tourists heading to Brazil have chosen to have their visa processed online.
Brazilian Tourism officials expected the program to be popular and are impressed by the current statistics.
"When we visited New York in January to launch the e-visa for U.S. consumers, many important players in the American trade told us that we should expect twice as many U.S. visitors in the coming years," said Vinicius Lummertz, president of the Brazilian Tourism Board (EMBRATUR). "This first step was fantastic, and this makes me believe the projections could be even higher."
The Brazilian government would like to see U.S. visitor numbers increase by approximately 200,000 per year, according to the Rio Times.
"If we want to compete for the international tourist, we have to end the bureaucracy and spread a red carpet for them to choose our destinations, shake the economy and create jobs in our country," said tourism minister Marx Beltrao during a press conference.
Americans are the second-largest tourist group traveling to Brazil. Only neighboring Argentina has more travelers visiting the country.
Currently, 550,000 Americans visit Brazil each year, however, that number is expected to grow.
In four years, USTOA predicts more than 1.2 million American tourists will visit Brazil each year and revenue will increase from $710 million to $1.5 billion.
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