Fortaleza has been highlighted as one of the hot spots for a New Year’s Eve holiday in Brazil by the Brazilian Tourist Board. This reinforces the popularity of Fortaleza holidays among both foreigners and Brazilians themselves.
The Brazilian Tourist Board has just released figures that point to an excellent Christmas and New Year holiday season for the country’s top tourist destinations. This year, the combination of excellent tourist infrastructure and the high rate of exchange has led to Brazilians favouring holiday spots within their home country.
In the latest national survey, almost 84 per cent of Brazilians planning to take a holiday during the Christmas period said they would be staying within Brazil. According to Tourist Board officials, this is the highest percentage ever. The same survey pinpoints five destinations within Brazil as the hotspots for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará in Northeast Brazil, is one of them along with Rio de Janeiro, Foz de Iguaçu, Salvador and Natal.
Fortaleza Top for Northeast Brazil Holidays
The recently published profile of international tourism in Brazil highlights Fortaleza as a big favourite with foreign tourists. In terms of visitor numbers, Ceará ranks as the destination in Northeast Brazil visited by most foreigners.
The profile found that leisure was the main reason behind foreign holidays in Ceará, a region chosen for its warm sunshine, sea breezes and gastronomy. 44.9 per cent of international visitors to Ceará stayed in hotel-type accommodation, although holidays lets registered a marked increase, reflecting the tendency in Brazil as a whole.
More Spending and Longer Holidays in Brazil
The profile for the foreign holidaymaker in Brazil is broadly similar to that in Ceará, although Argentinians make up the majority of foreigners with visitors from the US in second position. Spending by foreign tourists saw a significant hike last year with the daily amount rising nearly 27 per cent to US$86.96 a day.
Foreign tourists are also spending longer on holiday in Brazil. The Portuguese and Spanish stay for longest – both spend over a month on average. Rio de Janeiro continues in top position as the preferred holiday destination taking the lion’s share of international visitors. Sao Paulo moved into second place for the first time ever, ahead of previous high rankers such as Florianopolis and Foz de Iguaçu.
Brazil Holiday Lets on Rise
In terms of accommodation, nearly half of foreign tourists opted for hotel-type accommodation (49.5 per cent). The profile also highlights the big increase in alternative lodging such as holiday rentals. Figures point to around 24 per cent of foreigners choosing holiday lets in Brazil, the highest number for seven years.
Brazil as a whole and its main top holiday destinations in particular expect an even better year for foreign tourism in 2016. The country in its entirety will be celebrating the Olympic Games and in preparation for this, Brazil recently announced that visa requirements will be waived for all foreign visitors travelling between June and 18 September.
Foreigners will be able to stay in Brazil for up to 90 days without a visa regardless of whether they have a ticket for the Olympics or Paraolympics in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian Tourist Board anticipates that this measure will have a very positive effect on tourism figures and expects a 20 per cent increase in the number of foreign visitors.
Source: Brazilian Ministry of Tourism
