A study by the Brazilian University for Economics, Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), has revealed that since 2003, foreign nationals have spent some US$646million on property in the country and that 76% of all investors cite Brazil’s ‘beach and sun’ as the main attraction to buy in the country.

Unveiled at the recent ADIT Nordeste (Association for Real Estate and Tourism Development in North East Brazil) conference and exhibition in Recife, the survey, commissioned by EMBRATUR a division of the Ministry of Tourism responsible for the promotion of Brazil abroad, revealed that of the $646million in FDI entering the real estate sector, US citizens ($102million) accounted for the biggest proportion as a whole, followed by Spanish ($82million) and Italian buyers ($63million). On a regional scale, investors from Europe spent the biggest amount of all non-nationals in Brazil ($450million).

“It is immensely helpful to know the profile of these investors and will allow our country to set public policy for the segment,” said Felipe Cavalcante, president of ADIT. “The Northeast is a region of great attraction for foreigners. Business done at Nordeste Invest this year alone is expected to bring in over $120 million worth of investment.”

The survey found that the increasing levels of interest in Brazilian property can partially be attributed to EMBRATUR’s remit to promote the country as a residential tourism destination internationally. Now with an annual budget of $120million, the body is working under the guidance of the Aquarela Plan put in place by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , which aims to direct international focus on to five key areas of Brazil’s tourism infrastructure: sun, beach, eco-tourism, sports and business and events.

Outlining the government’s plans for future growth, Jeanine Pires, president of EMBRATUR, said: “President Lula’s strategy calls for consumer awareness about Brazil and aims to attract more tourists to the country, particularly from the US where the government has set a goal to attract nine million holidaymakers per year.”

“The Presidential policy includes the Plan for Acceleration and Growth (PAC) which undertakes infrastructure improvements which are beneficial to tourist activity, such as the building or improvement of roads, ports, airports and energy. In addition to this we have other important programmes such as PRODETUR which plans to invest $400 million in the nine states of the Northeast region in tourism infrastructure and vocational training programmes for tourism. One of the most important programmes is instigating the detailed tourism plans of the 65 Brazilian destinations which will be involved in hosting the World Cup in 2014.”

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