Encouraging sustainable tourism is among the priorities of the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion (Embratur), according to the entity’s president, Marcelo Freixo (PSB-RJ). Freixo said that tourism is among the five most important economic activities in the world, according to the World Economic Forum, as it is compatible with the challenges of the 21st century. 
“Tourism is an economic activity capable of generating development and conserving nature. That is, it is an economic activity where culture is a value, where gastronomy is a value and where nature is a value. It is an activity that is very compatible with humanity’s challenges in the 21st century, because it preserves, conserves, generates jobs and generates development. Unlike other economic activities that have negative consequences. Tourism is the solution,” he said in an interview with the program the voice of Brazil this Monday (27), in Brasilia.
Regarding Brazil’s candidacy to host the 30th United Nations Climate Conference (COP-30), scheduled for 2025, the president of Embratur emphasized that the event will bring together the main world authorities on the environmental issue. “We are talking about one of the most important events in the world, with all the main authorities coming to Brazil, and not to Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. They will go to Belém, to have direct contact with the Amazon. In Brazil, the tourism represents 8% of GDP. And it can represent much more, compared to the wealth we have in destinations, in addition to being a permanent source of employment and income, development and combating inequality”.
Among the sector’s challenges, Marcelo Freixo highlighted the high cost of airline tickets, which negatively impacts the flow of tourism, in addition to the need to qualify the workforce. “The price of fuel has gone up a lot, we know that airlines had a big problem during the pandemic, but it’s too expensive. So, we’ve been talking a lot with all airlines, we want to attract an increasing number companies, in addition to encouraging important destinations to open new flights”.
At the beginning of the month, Embratur had released data on the record movement of tourists in the country in the first months of the year: there were 1.5 million foreigners who entered the country, and revenue close to one billion dollars. “If we continue like this, in the first half of the year we already break the record of the last whole years. So we are surpassing the marks of 2019 pre-pandemic. This is a sign that the world is looking at Brazil from another way,” he celebrated.
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Freixo also said that Embratur was used in the past government to promote private interests. The leader spoke about the recovery of the Brasil brand, which had been changed to the spelling “Brazil” with “Z”, and now returns to being with “S”.
“Embratur was used for everything in the past government, except to promote Brazil. They promoted what was of private interest, not of public interest. We fixed that, and we recovered the Brazil brand: Brazil is not with Z, the Brazil is with an S”, criticized Freixo.
