RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Jair Bolsonaro’s government intends to simplify the entry of Chinese and Indian citizens into the country. The measure is being prepared by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty), which have not yet defined whether the changes will be implemented by decree or statute. Visa waivers have been permitted for citizens of Australia, Canada, the USA, and Japan since June.
In the case of China, the aim is to exempt the visa for those who already have an American, Canadian, Japanese, or Australian tourist visa. Embratur considers that the government can benefit from a ready-made “screening” process by which other trusted countries have checked the background of visitors.
As for Indians, Brazil would implement reciprocity for obtaining an electronic visa since Brazilians now can get online authorization to enter India. Thus, Indian tourists would face less red tape and avoid having to travel to New Delhi and Mumbai, the only two cities in India with Brazilian diplomatic representation.
According to Gilson Machado, president of Embratur, the goal is to exceed the average of six million foreign tourists per year and to double this figure by 2022. “The Eiffel Tower welcomes more tourists than Brazil,” he said. “Visa facilitation measures, according to the World Tourism Organization, have the potential to increase the number of tourists by 25 percent. Here in Brazil, the rates are above this standard, after the visa waiver for the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada. China and India are major international travel markets.”
During the presidential campaign, then candidate Jair Bolsonaro even said that China was a predatory partner that wished to “buy” Brazil.
The speech was fueled by the ideological “guru” Olavo de Carvalho, who named PSL deputies who traveled to Beijing in January, at the invitation of the Chinese government, as “idiots” and “rednecks”.
Once president, Bolsonaro ceased his attacks on China. The Palácio do Planalto announced a presidential trip to the Asian country in the second half of the year.
Data from the Ministry of Tourism show that 16,900 Indian tourists came to Brazil in 2017. The following year, the number fell to 16,700. In this period, the number of Chinese dropped from 61,200 in 2017 to 56,300 last year.
China is the largest tourist issuing country, with about 150 million international travelers in 2018. It is also the country with the highest travel spending — more than US$250 billion (R$1 trillion). In May, Embratur held exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu to promote Brazil as a tourist destination for the Chinese.