Travelers to Brazil are increasingly satisfied with their visits

November 5, 2011

Brazil continues to be one of the most popular destinations in South America.  The large nation, covering a large portion of the South American continent, offers an immense variety of attractions, both natural and cultural; from the mighty Amazon River and the Amazonian rainforest to the legendary Iguazu Falls; from a fantastically scenic Rio de Janeiro City to the bustling business and commercial Sao Paulo or the picturesque Salvador da Bahia.  Visitors can find in Brazil all the culture, nature, relaxation, delicious gastronomy, top class services or high adrenaline sports and adventure trips they are looking for.

And the Brazilians have good reasons to be proud of their performance in the travel industry: a recent survey, conducted over a period of ten months and covering a universe of some 39.000 foreign visitors, particularly at the country’s international airports and border crossings, revealed some encouraging statistics.  To begin with, 32% of these voyagers claimed that their travelling experiences in Brazil had exceeded their expectations and a further 53% said that they were entirely satisfied with their stays.  Altogether, a remarkable 85% of the surveyed visitors voted high satisfaction for their visits. A most gratifying figure was the fact that 96% of the surveyed travelers said that they intended to return to Brazil again.

According to official sources, Brazil expects to close 2011 with around 5.4 million foreign voyagers arriving to the country; which represents a growth of some 5.5% (300.000 visitors) up from the total of 2010, which was of 5.1million arrivals. During the period of the survey, the statistics showed that 46% of the visitors were from other South American countries; 31% from Europe and 15% from North America. One of the figures resulting from this study shows that Argentina and the United States, together, account for a 40% of all visitors to Brazil.

The same study found that the most visited states, favored amongst the foreign voyagers, were, in descending order, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Parana and Sao Paulo. Florianopolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, stood as the destination with the highest growth since the previous survey. The revealing poll also showed that 31% of the holidaymakers who visited Brazil had decided on the destination, persuaded by information they found on the internet, while 28% said that they had made the decision, based upon recommendations from family and friends. Finally, the study also revealed that the main attraction for 60% of the respondents was “sun and beaches”; while 27% chose the destination for “nature, ecotourism or adventure”.

However, it is the growing indexes of visitors’ satisfaction which provides the most gratifying results, since it demonstrates how the travel industry is consolidating as one of the leading social and economic activities for many cities and regions of Brazil, pumping in important economic resources to the national and local economies and generating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect employments among the local population. Thus, a greater awareness about service quality, improved infrastructure and warm hospitality are accounting for the elevated ratio of visitors satisfaction, a fact which, by simple “word of mouth” is bound to multiply the number of foreign visitors choosing Brazil as their holiday destination in the near future…..