The main challenge for the Brazilian government is resuming tourism activities that fell amid the COVID‑19 pandemic. The Tourism Recovery Plan aims to establish a national alliance for the recovery of the sector (see box below). Several measures were adopted to provide safe travel. For example, the Responsible Tourism Stamp was granted to institutions which followed the sanitary protocols established by Brazil and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA).
During the most critical period of the pandemic, Brazil introduced emergency measures to protect companies and consumers. These actions resulted in three main laws aiming at the maintenance of jobs, the regulation of consumer laws to prevent mass bankruptcy, and a sector credit guarantee, which provided BRL 5 billion for companies to fund infrastructure works and working capital. In addition, over 100 free online training courses were offered to professionals in the sector, which benefited more than 3 000 workers in several segments. Courses included digital marketing, natural resources, and foreign language classes.
The Ministry’s actions and policies are based on the National Tourism Plan 2018‑22 and the Strategic Plan 2020‑23. In consultation with the public and private sectors and civil society, the plan is currently being revised to adapt to the current context and the revised structure of the Ministry.
A lesson of the COVID‑19 crisis was the need for reliable data to support managers in decision-making. The Ministry’s Directorate of Strategic Management has made a wide range of tourism data available through the General Co‑ordination of Data and Information, which was based on official data produced by the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Labour, the Federal Police, and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, as well as information provided by tourism private sector associations. Historically, the Ministry of Tourism has produced data on the sector made available to the government and private associations to support the decision-making and policy-designing process.
From this data, new evidence-based priority areas were set. The first was promoting domestic tourism through infrastructure improvements and advertising campaigns promoting domestic destinations. Domestic tourism has been identified as the driving force for tourism recovery and represents a tool for promoting the country to international tourists.
The second priority was to invest in reinforcing biosecurity protocols to increase travellers’ sense of security. Brazil also aims to strengthen its understanding of domestic and international tourism demand and profiles through an agreement with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and international tourism surveys.
The Ministry of Tourism has strengthened partnerships with other Ministries to aid the implementation of projects, such as supporting inward investment for concessions for operators in national parks, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry has also sought to improve the relationship with the Ministry of Infrastructure to understand and improve tourist transport and mobility.
