Tourism criticizes Lula for reversing visa exemption – 03/10/2023 – Panel SA

The tourism sector reacted to the Lula government’s decision to resume visa requirements for travelers from the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan. The measure, in the words of the CNTur (National Tourism Confederation), should have terrible effects. For FecomercioSP, the matter requires deeper analysis.

The visa waiver was adopted by Jair Bolsonaro in March 2019, on the eve of a visit made by the former president to his ally Donald Trump.

In the assessment of the CNTur, instead of reversing Bolsonaro’s measure, Lula should maintain the exemption and negotiate reciprocity to release visas for Brazilians in the four countries. The entity claims that it sees potential economic impacts in the change and claims that the pandemic has disrupted the travel market, preventing the attraction of tourists in recent years.

“Since the new government is preaching more dialogue, respect and unity, then, we are going to improve. If it was a decision of the past government, we are going to improve and try to seek reciprocity in the visa release instead of demanding it again”, he says Fábio Aguayo, president of Feturismo and director of CNTur, entities in the tourism sector.

“It is better for travelers to spend in our hotels, bars and shops than in visa bureaucracy”, says the businessman.

According to FecomercioSP, withdrawing a visa in Brazil undermines competitiveness in relation to other countries in South America, such as Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina, which do not require a visa from US citizens.

The entity says that the measure is also contrary to the policies announced by Lula for the recovery of Brazil’s image abroad and the promotion of financial contributions for the expansion of the tourist structure in the country.

To make the decision, the government compared the year 2019, in which the visa requirement was withdrawn, with the previous year and with 2022. In the case of the United States, the increase in the number of tourists from 2018 to 2019 was 12 %, going from 391 thousand to 439 thousand. In 2022, 355,000 Americans came, below the pre-pandemic level. In Japan, there was a decrease of 4% between 2018 and 2019, from 59 thousand to 56 thousand. In 2022, there were 16,800 tourists.

Joana Cunha with Paulo Ricardo Martins It is Diego Felix

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