Culture and tourism: Perspectives of foreigners on the Brazilian carnival

Abstract

The objective of this work is to try and gain a better understanding about the motives that lead a tourist to visit Brazil, and also to gauge the final perception of the tourist about their visit. The question "why do people travel to Brazil" is complex, involving cultural and psychological aspects (such as the attraction for the Latin culture or for the tropical heat), transport, availability of tourist facilities, distance, motivation and economic considerations. All of this we call the "tourist experience". There is also the fact to be considered that the revisit rate, by tourists to Brazil, is high. In 2006, 64% of the tourists interviewed by Embratur had already visited the country at least once. This shows a high fidelity for the quality of the Brazilian reception. What is the reason for this fidelity, how does it happen, and what is the final image the foreign tourist has about Brazil; these are the foci of the research in question. One of the major reasons for the image of Brazil in the outside world, as well as being the period with the most visits by foreign tourists, the Carnival is by definition a focus of the research. © 2010 WIT Press.