The return of visa requirements for US, Australian, Japanese and Canadian passports is considered of concern by the Tourism Council of the Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism of the State of São Paulo (FecomercioSP), which regrets the decision and declares that it will work to reverse it. Therefore, it will provide data and arguments that will be addressed to the main public agents of tourism: the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneiro, and the president of the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of International Tourism (Embratur), Marcelo Freixo, in more of the Parliamentary Tourism Front to the National Congress, in order to sensitize the President of the Republic to review the decision.

The argument for revoking the exemption, a policy adopted in 2019, rests on two points: reciprocity and the null effects of the measure. According to FecomercioSP, regarding reciprocity, the assessment to be made is related to competitiveness with other South American countries, since Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina do not require visas American citizens, for example.

Consequently, less bureaucracy attracts more tourists and more expenses for the chain. According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), G20 economies have the potential to attract an additional 122 million tourists and generate a tourism export of US$206 billion through simplified visa procedures .

Currently, the United States is the second country to have landed in Brazil, primarily by air – and is second only to Argentina. In 2022, 441,000 Americans, 54,200 Canadians, 25,000 Australians and 17,600 Japanese entered the country, representing approximately 15% of all tourists entering Brazilian lands. Faced with the figures, FecomercioSP affirms that we must take a close look at these countries.

Also according to the Federation, the allegation that the exemption did not increase the number of visitors must be assessed. Indeed, the release took place a year before the pandemic, and therefore, there were three consecutive years in an atypical situation. Therefore, this period should not be considered to make a decision as relevant as this.

Moreover, the Tourist Office stresses that the measure goes against the policies of the Ministry of Tourism and Embratur: to recover the image of the country abroad, to develop investments in national promotion in countries such as the United States, to encourage financial contributions to develop the tourist structure, among others.

For Guilherme Dietze, technical advisor to the Tourism Council, the unilateral exemption benefits tourism by including passengers who decide on a whim and motivated by promotions. “The visa is a barrier, especially in these cases. Other countries with trade and tourism interests in the country must be assessed, so that this type of action is aligned with other foreign trade and strategic partnerships,” he concludes.

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