In his first meeting with representatives of the sector, the president of the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion (Embratur), Marcelo Freixo, said today (30) that he is seeking partnerships to recompose the agency’s budget to intensify international tourism in the country.
“Brazil will generate development and employment if it has the ability to promote itself. Mexico currently invests US$ 240 million in promotion and tourism is a very important source of its economy. Peru, with all the political crisis it is going through, invests US$ 50 million in promotion. And Brazil doesn’t even invest US$ 15 million”, said Freixo, in a meeting with the Tourism Council of the Commercial Association of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Among the proposals to increase the budget is the regulation of Tourism Lottery. The bill that authorizes the Executive Branch to create the lottery was sanctioned in September last year.
“The new lottery needs to be regulated. I have already started talking about this new lottery with the economic team and with the Civil House so that part of it can go to Embratur. But it is not the only source of funds. We have a debate about a percentage with the S System, partnership with Apex (Export and Investment Promotion Agency), with Sebrae (Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Companies) and with the private sector”, said Freixo .
He highlighted the lack of production of tourist data to guide the policy of promoting the country’s image abroad. “We have to have quality information. I’m taking an Embratur that we don’t know how many tourists come, where they come from, what they’re looking for. We are putting together a technical team bringing a professor from USP who specializes in big data, in producing numbers, so that we can qualify the information and thus bring more people here”.
One of the concerns expressed by industry representatives was the emptying from RIOgaleão-Tom Jobim International Airport, on Ilha do Governador, north of Rio. Freixo said that the recovery of Galeão is essential to recover international tourism in Rio. “President Lula told me a sentence that I repeat here: ‘recovering Rio de Janeiro is recovering Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is Brazil’s main gateway.’ This is not about parochialism.”
