Nadia Panis, an Argentine tourist, became the sixth millionth visitor to enter Brazil this year, a historic milestone.
Panis arrived on Thursday December 5th at Ant?nio Carlos Jobim (Gale?o) International Airport in Rio de Janeiro and was greeted with live music and festivities hosted by the president of Embratur (Brazilian Tourism Institute), Fl?vio Dino.
The celebrations in Gale?o also included a photographic display of the country’s main tourist destinations.
The unsuspecting Argentine tourist has also been offered a stay in B?zios, courtesy of The Rio de Janeiro State Tourism Board.
Embratur is now working towards reaching a new goal for the number of foreign tourists visiting Brazil next year, when it hosts the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The tourism institute is hoping to set a new record of seven million, with a reported 600,000 foreigners expected to visit Brazil during the sporting summer.
“Embratur’s objective is to increase the number of tourists arriving next year to seven million, generating more jobs and income for Brazilians”, said Fl?vio Dino.
The president also stated that tourism in Brazil had grown by 5 per cent in 2012, exceeding worldwide growth of 3 per cent.
Dino believes that the number of foreign tourists will reach 10 million by 2017.
Currently, the tourism industry employs around 10 million Brazilians and generates 3.6 per cent of GDP.