RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With some 8,500 kilometers of coastline, 35,000 kilometers of navigable rivers and canals, and a further 9,260 kilometers of freshwater reservoirs, lakes and ponds, Brazil boasts one of the world’s greatest potentials for the development of nautical tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism prepared the Tourism Market Intelligence Report focusing on nautical tourism, which compiles data and information on products and experiences and the main trends and innovations in the segment, regarded as one of the main drivers for the recovery of tourism in the country.
It was launched on Thursday afternoon, July 8, in an online event attended by Minister of Tourism Gilson Machado Neto.
“Through this Tourism Market Intelligence report, launched today, for the first time we are providing a structure that organized what is happening in nautical tourism,” the Minister said. “It will serve as a very important foundation to guide any tourism activity on our coastline or from our water capacities.”
Nautical Tourism
The document compiles data and information on products and experiences in the sector in all Brazilian regions. “Nautical tourism has always been our focal point because of its current dimension, and because of the dimension it may develop into,” the Minister emphasized.
For instance, in terms of cruise ships there was a 68.5% increase in the total number of cruise passengers worldwide in 10 years (2009 to 2019), from 17.8 million to 30 million today.
In the 2019/2020 cruise ship season in Brazil, 8 ships operated itineraries along the country’s coast, one more than in the previous season. The impacts on the economy and job generation benefited tourist destinations and companies engaged in tourism activities and others, generating R$2.241 billion (US$426 million) revenue.
“We need to optimize nautical tourism, to make it leave the stationary level it is at today and turn it into one of the most important matrixes of tourism in Brazil and of the economy,” Gilson Machado Neto stressed.
In nautical tourism, small, medium, or large vessels can be used. The activities include river and sea cruises, sport fishing, nature observation, water sports competitions, swimming in freshwater and saltwater beaches, among others.
Destinations
The report mapped Nautical Tourism destinations divided by regions.
North Region
In the North region, washed by the great Amazonian rivers, 14 destinations were mapped. Among the highlights are the trip to the heart of the Amazon in the Jaú National Park, visits to the freshwater beaches of Santarém and the Alter do Chão resort, kitesurfing and surfing championships at Pororoca, in Macapá, and Pará gastronomy in Belém’s river and sea port.
Northeast Region
In the Northeast region, there are 27 destinations, with highlights to the natural pools of Maragogi, Paripueira and São Miguel dos Milagres, in Alagoas; the tourist routes in Salvador and Ilhéus, in Bahia; Recife’s cruise ship season and the international regatta connecting Recife to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, in Pernambuco.
Midwest
In the Midwest there are 20 destinations, among them Schooner rides on Lake Paranoá, in Brasília (Federal District); tours in Chapada dos Veadeiros, in Goiás; Chapada dos Guimarães, in Mato Grosso; and the Pantanal wetlands in Southern Mato Grosso.
Southeast
There are 24 points mapped in the Southeast. The main ones are the Guanabara Bay tour in Rio de Janeiro, the Lake Region in Rio de Janeiro state, and the São Paulo coast attractions.
South
There are 15 destinations in the South. The highlights are the Iguaçu Falls and the Itaipu Lake in Foz do Iguaçu; a trip through the Patos Lagoon in Rio Grande do Sul; and the cruise ships in Santa Catarina.
Source: Brazil Government