In the first two months of 2025, Brazil received 2,810,553 international tourists, which represents the best mark in the historical series for the two-month period. In comparison with the same period in 2024, the increase was 57%. The data was released this Monday (10.03) by the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with Embratur and the Federal Police.
In February alone, there were 1,326,884 entries to Brazilian destinations, establishing a growth of 59.2%, the second consecutive record of the year – in January, the country had already registered a record for the period, when 1,48 million international travellers arrived in Brazil.
For the president of Embratur, Marcelo Freixo, the new mark indicates that Brazil is finally living up to its tourism potential. “In the first two months of the year, we reached visitation levels above any projection, even the most optimistic ones. Brazil became fashionable, it went viral. Today, the world wants to know the Brazil of Fernanda Torres, of funk, of the Amazon, the Brazil that is a global reference for its joy, its culture, but also for the values of our people, for exalting our diversity and defending democracy. We are transforming our potential into reality”, said Marcelo Freixo.
The upward trend has been maintained at the beginning of this year, as pointed out by the Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino. “Brazil is experiencing an exceptional moment in international tourism. We are breaking all records, which had already been surpassed in 2024. We started 2025 on a high note and the expectation is that this scenario will continue”, he highlighted.
The numbers recorded in 2025 are well above the projections indicated for this year by sources such as GlobalData (+7.2%) and the National Tourism Plan itself (+1.8%).
Gateways
Rio Grande do Sul continues to be the main gateway for foreign tourists, recording 347,186 arrivals. Next comes São Paulo (309,977), which is home to one of the country’s main international airports, Guarulhos. Rio de Janeiro also stood out, receiving 262,108 visitors from other countries. In the Northeast, Bahia remains the leader in welcoming international tourists. There were 24,254 travellers who chose the capital of Bahia, Salvador, to enter the country.
The demand for Argentines coming to Brazil continued to rise in February as well. Once again, the border between the two countries was busy and Brazil received 662,694 “hermanos” on Brazilian soil. This number represents more than double the number of tourists from the neighbouring country in the same month of the previous year (306,756).
But they are not the only ones interested in getting to know Brazil. The average number of Europeans entering Brazil grew by 56% between January and February. Countries such as France, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy sent 142,000 tourists in the second month of the year, compared to just over 91,000 who visited the country in January.
Reference year
In addition to the records reached in the entry of international tourists in January and February, Brazil also broke the record for annual arrivals in 2024. In the accumulated total for the 12 months of last year, 6,773,619 visitors from other countries arrived in Brazilian destinations, 14.6% more than in 2023, when the number was 5,908,341 tourists.
