The 2016 Olympics will be no panacea for Brazil's faltering economy if last year's World Cup is any guide. Contrary to government projections, Brazil has failed to lure to its beaches and jungles many of the 3.5 billion TV viewers that followed the tournament.
The flow of tourists to the country, which spent more to host the mega-event than any nation before it, has remained flat from a year earlier since the final match in July last year, according to tour operators and an online search engine. Spending by foreign visitors fell 7.4 per cent from August through November, compared with a year earlier, central bank data shows.
From the rhythms of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon forest and Iguassu Falls, Brazil boasts some of the world's outstanding travel attractions. Yet several hurdles, from high costs and violence to poor marketing and logistics, mean many potential visitors choose to go elsewhere, said Diogo Canteras, partner at hotel consulting firm HotelInvest.
"Brazil has attractions. It doesn't have competitive prices, promotion, or infrastructure," Canteras said. "The World Cup wasn't the generator of tourists that was expected."
Brazil spent US$11 billion on the World Cup, which was supposed to increase the nation's visibility and consolidate an image of "happiness and receptivity" to boost its tourist potential, according to a government-sponsored study on the economic benefits of the Cup published early last year.
