Brazil attracts 7 million foreign tourists in Jan-Sep 2026

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, citing data from the Central Bank, September alone saw record tourist spending of 4.9 billion Brazilian reais (approximately US$931 million).

The rise in tourist spending had a positive impact on the hotel, restaurant and tourism services sectors, as well as small businesses, coinciding with growth in international air traffic. The number of passengers on international flights reached 22.7 million during the first nine months of the year, an increase of 7.2 per cent year-on-year.

Business tourism contributed to the sector’s strong performance, generating revenue of 11.07 billion Brazilian reais (approximately US$2.1 billion) between January and September 2026, a rise of 7.41 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The impact of growth in tourism activity extended to the labour market, with the sector creating 62,000 formal jobs between August 2025 and August 2026. The total number of people employed in the sector rose to 2.42 million, representing around 5 per cent of the country’s workforce.

In a move aimed at attracting more visitors and boosting regional tourism, Brazil, in collaboration with Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, launched a joint tourism portal, which was unveiled on 27 October 2026 during a meeting of tourism ministers from the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), hosted by the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. The new platform allows travellers to explore tourist destinations according to their interests and to plan multi-country itineraries.

Earlier, it was reported that Kazakhstan and three other Central Asian countries had received the lowest travel advisory level from the U.S. Department of State, while several Western European destinations were classified at Level 2, which advises travelers to exercise increased caution.