Brazil Reports Booming First Quarter 2025 Visitor Arrivals

Image: Rio de Janeiro was among Brazilian cities recording strong first quarter visitor arrivals. (Photo by Brian Major)

by Brian Major
Last updated: 1:05 PM ET, Wed April 23, 2025

Brazil hosted 3.74 million international visitors during the first three months of 2025, the highest total for the period in the country’s history and more than one-half the number of international travelers the South American nation reported during all of 2024.

According to data from Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, Embratur, the country’s international tourism promotion agency, and Brazil’s Federal Police, Brazil’s 2025 international arrivals represent a 47.8 percent increase over the first three months of 2024.

Brazil’s first-quarter visitor arrivals increase includes a total of 929,096 international travelers hosted during March, a 25.5 percent increase over March 2024. The S?o Paulo state, Brazil’s primary air hub, led the country in international tourist arrivals during March, with 277,266 visitors. Rio de Janeiro followed with 241,812 arrivals.

Other states reporting increased March arrivals include Rio Grande do Sul, which hosted 168,507 international visitors, and Bahia, which hosted 17,583 international tourists during March 2025.

Brazil hosted 6.65 million international tourists in 2024, an increase 12.6 percent year-over-year increase compared with 2023. Foreign tourists generated $7.3 billion in revenue for Brazil’s tourism sector last year, representing eight percent of Brazil’s GDP, according to Embratur officials.

Brazil’s strong first-quarter 2025 visitor arrivals were driven by “international promotion actions and the strengthening of tourism infrastructure,” said Marcelo Freixo, Embratur’s president.

“The growth rate in the arrival of foreign visitors exceeds all expectations and the record volume of international visitors translates into direct benefits for our economy,” Freixo said.

"Our goal is to continue at this pace and consolidate the country as one of the world's leading tourist destinations," said Celso Sabino, Brazil’s minister of tourism.

Brazil’s government last week launched “Feel Brazil,” a digital platform aimed at travel advisors and consumers. The platform offers 101 tourism experiences available across the country.

Feel Brazil’s programs encompass tourism experience options in 61 municipalities, with 59 percent of programs led by women and more than 80 percent featuring “inclusive” teams, said officials. The program additionally maintains “a commitment to social and environmental sustainability.”

Featured itineraries include tours of Amazonian rivers, bike rides along remote beaches and traditional Bahian cooking lessons. Feel Brazil is designed to increase these options’ visibility in the global market and “strengthen their commercialization for international visitors,” said officials.

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