Brazil hopes to lure more Americans with new e-visa
Brazil has just made it easier for Americans to enjoy vacations in South America.
It has rolled out a new visa procedure allowing US nationals to complete the visa process completely online for the first time.
It has become much cheaper too – dropping from $160 to $40.
The new e-visa program has also been rolled out for citizens of other nations, including Australia, Canada and Japan.
Inbound tourism from the US has been steadily falling and even the 2016 Rio Olympics did little to arrest the slump.
The Zika epidemic in Brazil also contributed to falling tourism revenues.
"The federal government for a long time didn’t understand the economic importance of tourism. No actions to promote destinations, no partnerships with operators to attract visitors, to diversify tourism," tourism minister Marx Beltrao told the AP.
"Tourism became part of the economic agenda just a year and a half ago."
Beltrao said measures are being put in place to increase tourism marketing, including significantly increasing the budget of Embratur, Brazil’s tourism marketing agency.
"If we want to compete for international tourists, we need to do away with the bureaucracy and extend a red carpet so they choose our destinations," Beltrao added.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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