FIFA World Cup Boosts Brazil's Tourism Numbers

Over the course of 2014, Brazil registered an increase in tourism numbers, announcing 6,429,852 international tourists – a boost that can be attributed to the country hosting the World Cup.

The country surpassed the six million mark for the first time ever, revealing a 10.6 per cent year-over-year growth over 2013.

Neighboring Argentina is still the top country for Brazil-bound tourists, with 1,743,930 people visiting in 2014, followed by the United States (656,801) and Chile (336,650).

The top port of entry for visitors to the country remains São Paulo, with 2,219,917 people, according to the data released today part of the 2015 Annual Report on Tourism Statistics from the Brazilian ministry of tourism.

Rio de Janeiro registered the highest increase in the entry of foreign visitors, announcing 1,597,153 visitors, which represents a 32.2 per cent growth over 2013, or 389.353 more people.

The statistics also revealed that 70.6 per cent of the tourists arrived by air, 27.3 per cent by road and the remainder by boat.

The tourist figures clearly show that last year's football World Cup was decisive in the increase in tourism.

In June, when the competition was held, the number of international tourists tripled, climbing from 350,025 in 2013 to 1,018,876 in 2014.

Minister of tourism, Henrique Alves, commented: "The numbers prove that the World Cup was big business for tourism. Now the challenge is to guarantee conditions for the sector to keep growing."

"Mega events are exceptional catalysts for increasing tourism, but in order to maintain consistent growth, we need to address structural issues and approach tourism with professionalism in Brazil."