The Brazilian Government is mulling the possibility of extending a visa waiver programme to Chinese nationals, said in a statement last week Embratur – Brazilian Tourism Institute, an official agency of the Ministry of Tourism.

The authorities currently allow visitors from the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia to enjoy up to 90 days in Brazil without the need for a visa during the Olympic Games. The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro starting next month. 

Representatives of Embratur and the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussed last week the possibility of extending such programme for a period of one year after the Olympics.

In the meeting, Vinícius Lummertz, President of Embratur, mentioned the possibility of including China in the group of countries whose nationals will enjoy visa-free entry, as China is considered “the most important tourism source market at the moment”. 

“More than 100 million Chinese travel around the world each year but only 53,000 visited Brazil in 2015,” he noted. “Brazil needs to attract Chinese tourists and investors.”