While Brazil welcomed a 14.8% growth in the number of foreign tourists in May this year from the same month of 2023, Argentina's domestic leisure travel showed a decline of nearly 65% during this past three-day weekend encompassing the June 17 National Holiday. Brasilia's Tourism Ministry announced Monday that most of the 335,652 foreign visitors welcomed in May were from Argentina.
These figures represented the highest level for the month since 2020. In the first five months of 2024, Brazil received 3.2 million international travelers, an 8.
6% improvement compared to January through May 2023, bringing additional cash to the country's hospitality, gastronomy, and transport, Tourism Minister Celso Sabino explained. With these promising figures, Brazil reinforces its image of topping the list of the most desired destinations in Latin America, he underlined. The sector is expected to continue to grow in the coming months, especially with the organization of important events such as the G20 Summit, and Rock in Rio, he added.
This drive has an impact on economic development and job creation in the country, Sabino also noted. Behind the some 1.1 million visitors from Argentina came 298,000 from the United States, followed by Chile's 294,000.
Last weekend in Argentina only saw some 802,000 people traveling to domestic destinations spending AR$ 81.464 million, far below Carnival expenditures which amounted to over AR$ 352 billion, the Argentine Confederation of Medium-Siz.
