Cheaper Brazil visas cheer soccer fans

Chinese citizens who have tickets for the World Cup do not need to pay visa application fees, according to the Brazilian embassy in Beijing.

“Ticket holders can apply for Special Temporary Visas, which are exempt from all consular fees and can enjoy priority in the application process. Journalists accredited by FIFA will not have to pay any fees either,” said Claudio Garon, minister counselor of the Brazilian embassy.

Chinese football fans only need to present their passports, tickets, identification photos and a completed form to apply for visa. The whole process only takes 48 hours.

“Besides, the embassy will hold more cultural events in Beijing and other Chinese cities to promote the World Cup and Brazil, in order to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit our country,” Garon said.

More and more Chinese tourists are choosing Brazil and other Latin American countries as holiday destinations. Brazilian Ministry of Tourism’s data shows that by the end of 2013, about 66,000 Chinese tourists had visited Brazil, double the number that had visited in 2009.

“Chinese travelers are more interested in Brazil because they are finding out more about our culture. Transportation links connecting China and Brazil have also improved, making it easier to travel now,” Garon said.

However, the number is still limited compared to the total number who travel overseas. According to the China’s National Tourism Administration, about 97 million Chinese citizens visited foreign countries in 2013 and most went to the United States and Europe.

“The main reason for that is because of the large travel distance between China and Brazil. We are still an unknown destination for many Chinese tourists and too many stereotypes still exist,” Garon said.

“But I am sure that the World Cup will help to show more about Brazil to Chinese tourists,” he added.

The Brazilian ministry of tourism predicted that about 7 million tourists will visit Brazil in 2014, among which 700,000 will go for the World Cup. These visitors will boost the Brazilian economy by about $3 billion.

According to the World Tourism Organization, Chinese tourists led the world in terms of spending power after spending about $102 billion in 2012. The figure is expected to reach $140 billion in 2014.

“We want to attract more Chinese tourists to visit Brazil. Chinese television will broadcast a lot about our country during the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, so I think there will be a momentous growth in the number of in Chinese tourists going to Brazil in the near future,” Garon said.

China continued to be Brazil’s largest trade partner in 2013, with bilateral trade worth $83.3 billion, according to the Brazilian ministry of development, industry and foreign trade.

“The tourism industry can be a new growth point in the bilateral economic cooperation between China and Brazil. More Chinese visitors going to Brazil will also help overcome the knowledge gap between the two countries, making us much closer to each other,” Garon said.

To provide more convenience to Chinese citizens in visa applications, the Brazilian embassy opened a consular section in Guangzhou in 2011.

“Brazil welcomes every Chinese tourist and football fan that would like to go to Brazil during the World Cup to watch the games. For those who don’t have a ticket, I invite them to go to Brazil and see the land with their own eyes. That will be a very good choice,” Garon said.