Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism confirmed on 12 July that the country received 4.8 million international visitors in the first five months of 2026 – the second-best result ever recorded for the period. After breaking the nine-million-visitor barrier in 2025, arrivals have continued to accelerate this year, with almost 500 000 foreigners disembarking in May alone. The top four source markets remain Argentina, the United States, Paraguay and France, while Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Santa Catarina retain their places as the most-visited destinations. The influx is being felt well beyond the traditional tourism hot-spots. According to industry association Abrasel, bars and restaurants nationwide have already booked about R$ 25 billion (US$ 4.6 billion) in revenue from international travellers during the January-May window. Restaurateurs report spending on multilingual menus, culinary workshops and social-media campaigns aimed at gourmands who see gastronomy as an essential part of the Brazilian travel experience. For corporate mobility managers the figures signal tightening hotel occupancy and rising average daily rates in major business centres in the second half of the year. Companies are being advised to book accommodation blocks earlier than usual and to review per-diem policies for staff posted to Brazil on short-term projects. Destination-service providers are likewise ramping up capacity for city orientation, housing searches and schooling assistance as demand for longer expatriate assignments rebounds. Policy-makers view the momentum as vindication of recent visa-waiver negotiations.
![Foreign visitor numbers hit post-pandemic high, boosting Brazil’s food-service sector]()
For travelers whose nationalities are not yet covered by these waivers, VisaHQ offers an efficient online application platform and expert guidance to secure the appropriate Brazilian visa. The step-by-step service, available at helps business and leisure visitors alike complete forms, gather supporting documents and track their applications, reducing lead times and paperwork headaches for mobility planners.
The foreign ministry is prioritising talks with the European Union and Gulf states to expand Brazil’s list of bilateral visa-exemption partners. At the same time Embratur is doubling its marketing budget for culinary and cultural tourism, hoping to disperse visitor flows to secondary cities. Looking ahead, analysts warn that infrastructure constraints may resurface. Congested airports in Rio and São Paulo reached 93 % of peak-hour slots in June, prompting aviation regulator ANAC to consider temporary slot caps during the year-end holiday rush. Airports, airlines and travel buyers will need close coordination to avoid a replay of the 2019 summer bottlenecks.
For travelers whose nationalities are not yet covered by these waivers, VisaHQ offers an efficient online application platform and expert guidance to secure the appropriate Brazilian visa. The step-by-step service, available at helps business and leisure visitors alike complete forms, gather supporting documents and track their applications, reducing lead times and paperwork headaches for mobility planners.
The foreign ministry is prioritising talks with the European Union and Gulf states to expand Brazil’s list of bilateral visa-exemption partners. At the same time Embratur is doubling its marketing budget for culinary and cultural tourism, hoping to disperse visitor flows to secondary cities. Looking ahead, analysts warn that infrastructure constraints may resurface. Congested airports in Rio and São Paulo reached 93 % of peak-hour slots in June, prompting aviation regulator ANAC to consider temporary slot caps during the year-end holiday rush. Airports, airlines and travel buyers will need close coordination to avoid a replay of the 2019 summer bottlenecks.
