Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a milestone for Brazilian tourism, says Embratur president

The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games can be seen as a milestone in Brazilian tourism, said Vinicius Lummertz, President of Embratur (the Brazilian Tourism Board) during a panel on the positive effects of major events for nation brands held this Tuesday (9 August) at the Rio Media Center. With an accumulated viewership of 5 billion people from all corners of the world, the Games are considered the culminating event of the long list of international mega-events hosted by Brazil.

"Now we have a challenge f a different nature, which is to decide what to do from now on with this 'inventory' of tourism potential Brazil has amassed", said Lummertz.

The cycle of mega-events hosted by Brazil began in 2007 with the Pan American Games, followed by the Military World Games in 2011, the Rio+20 Summit in 2012, the 2013 Confederations Cup, the 2013 World Youth Day, the 2014 World Cup, and, finally, the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For Lummertz, the results generated for the country include both tangible and image improvements. "Mega-events are an opportunity to develop both urban and tourism infrastructure, which then remain as a legacy for the population and strengthen global perception of the country," said the President of Embratur.

The increased visibility of the country leads to a potential growth in tourist interest in Brazil, which Embratur intends to leverage by promoting campaigns targeted at final consumers. "We want to take advantage of the fact that Brazil is fresh in the minds of these consumers after the mega-exposure from the Games, and diversify the destinations we market," said Lummertz.

To leverage Brazil's exposure in the post-Olympic period, Embratur will launch a global

campaign featuring images of the Games and a message of gratitude to all tourists who came to the country, including an open invitation to return.

Embratur's expectation is that the Rio 2016 Games will attract anywhere between 300,000 to 500,000 tourists from abroad, who will have the power to reverberate their Rio experience when they return to their countries of origin. "With the Games, we will once again be able to prove our ability to host and delight tourists from all over the world. Brazilian tourism has reached a new level in the international arena. We will continue to work to attract these audiences and boost tourism revenues after the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games," he said.

During the panel, representatives from the United Kingdom and Colombia presented the campaigns they ran in their respective countries to promote Brazil's nation brand. According to the Head of Communications of the British Mission in Brazil, Gemma Reignez, the GREAT campaign, launched by the UK government in 144 countries featuring British icons to enhance exposure at the London 2012 Olympics, generated 2.1 billion pounds in revenue for tourism, education and business. The Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Colombia in Brazil, Juan Pablo Hernandez de Alba, said that his country's image has changed markedly since the first campaign launched in 2005. "The Colombia brand has changed along with the country's overall situation," he said.

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