Expanded Brazilian Air Access Driving Visitor Growth

Expanded airline routes are driving strong early season visitor arrivals for Brazil. The country recorded 2,810,553 international visitors in January and February, a 57 percent year-over-year increase compared with the first two months of 2024, according to officials at Embratur, Brazil’s national tourism agency.

The arrivals increase coincides with Brazil’s Carnival season, which traditionally begins in February. Brazil also recorded a seven percent year-over-year increase in commercial aviation activity in February 2025, according to National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) data.

Brazilian travel will represent 24.9 percent of all South American flight activity, including domestic and international flights, between January and June of this year, according to forecasts from travel research firm ForwardKeys.

Embratur officials are attributing the early year flight increases to Brazilian government initiatives intended to increase international air traffic.

Under its $10.6 billion International Tourism Acceleration Program (PATI) for 2025, Brazil is offering airlines new flights to several cities, with plans to promote the routes in international markets.

In return, the Brazilian government is financing part of the investment in promoting and publicizing the flights, according to Embratur officials.

Spanish carrier Iberia will add new flights to Fortaleza and Recife beginning next winter via the program, with departures from Orlando, Fla. Additionally, American Airlines will launch new weekly flights to Sao Paulo from Dallas-Fort Worth airport this year.

Brazil recorded its best-ever year for international arrivals in 2024, with 6,657,377 foreign visitors, a 12.6 percent year-over-year increase compared with 2023. The United States was Brazil’s second largest tourist source country (following Argentina), with nearly 700,000 travelers.

“In the first two months of the year [Brazil] surpassed the most optimistic projections,” said Marcelo Freixo, Embratur’s president. “We are transforming our potential into reality.” 

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