MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil forecasts 3bn boost to the economy with 3.7 million World Cup visitors

“Tourists who come to the matches are the visitors who spend the most”, said Minister Lages

Brazil forecasts that the estimated 3.7 million people expected to visit during the World Cup, including Brazilian and foreign tourists, will boost the country's economy to the tune of 3.03bn. dollars.

 The number of tourists expected to travel to the 12 World Cup host for matches and FIFA Fan Fests is estimated at 1.9 million. Direct spending of 1.83bn is forecast. Another 1.8 million visitors will be in Brazil to enjoy festivities linked to the World Cup and are expected to spend 1.19bn.

“The tourism spending being forecast based on the surveys conducted by Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism do not include the indirect and induced financial transactions resulting from these visitors,“ said tourism minister Vinicius Lages.

”In other words, the total financial turnover for tourism during the 2014 FIFA World Cup may be more than double the anticipated figure if we consider the multiplier effect of these resources in the Brazilian economy.“

The 300,000 foreign tourists visiting specifically for the World Cup will be responsible for the biggest spend.

These tourists are projected to attend four World Cup matches on average and to spend an average 2,488 dollars each during their stay in the country, not including airfares and expenses incurred in their country of origin.

The number of these visitors was calculated based on World Cup match ticket sales through the first week of April 2014.

“Tourists who come to the matches are the visitors who spend the most. This is an important audience, and we want to win them over during the World Cup,” said Lages.

He also highlighted the results of a FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 tourism survey, which revealed that more than 70% of the foreign tourists interviewed expressed a wish to return to Brazil this year.

The World Cup projections take into consideration the average spending of tourists at last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup, and the proportion of people staying with relatives and friends during the event.

The base for the projections is a survey conducted by Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Economic Research Institute Foundation (FIPE).

According to a recent study on the FIFA Confederations Cup released by the Ministry of Tourism and FIPE, the economic impact of the entire production chain related to the Confederations Cup until the start of the tournament last June totaled 9.37bn, with 8.69bn from public and private investments for the Cup, 448.6m from tourist spending and 237.3m from investments by the Brazil 2014 organizing committee.