My Method... How Visit Brazil increased U.S. bookings by nearly $6M

In 2019, Brazil officially ended visa requirements for travelers from the United States, Brazil's second main source market of tourists. Embratur, the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion, wanted to double the number of tourists in Brazil by 2023 and saw the end of visa requirements as a way to achieve this goal.

However, we had some obstacles:

• Stagnation of the influx of foreign tourists to Brazil in the last two years due to the COVID‐19 pandemic.
• Direct competition with tourist destinations that have similar attractions to Brazil.
• Lack of knowledge of the target audience regarding other tourist attractions offered in Brazil.

Strategy

Once the U.S. reduced travel restrictions to Brazil, Embratur began to plan a campaign to remind Americans the many ways that Brazil is a very attractive destination, such as:

• Simple and easy: No visa required; no need to get additional health insurance; and for the vaccinated, no need to quarantine.
• Safe: Brazil adopted major sanitary measures against COVID‐19; it created strict guidelines and indicators from the Ministry of Tourism to help tourists choose responsible establishments.
• Diverse: Destinations that allow the traveler to explore different experiences in one place: nature, culture, gastronomy, well‐being, beach and sun, adventure, among others.
• Practical and affordable: Extensive aerial network; diversified hotel chain; favorable exchange rate for the target audience.

The Campaign

This campaign included TV and internet ads, online banners, digital outdoor media, including a billboard in Times Square, as well as ads in flights. In total, there were 17 outdoor media screens and 36,000 aircraft screens, ads on four different TV channels and in 10 different online vehicles, including social media channels, such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

Results

The TV ads generated 1,673 insertions and 14,601,639 impacts – a measurement used to indicate an estimate of how many times the pieces were viewed by the public. In outdoor media, there were one million insertions, with more than 38 million impacts. The content on the internet registered more than 52 million hits, 12 million video views and more than 127 thousand clicks to the Visit Brazil website.

More importantly, the campaign generated an increase of $5.7 million in bookings to Brazil from the United States. The results of the campaign that ran between last November and April also show a 78% growth in searches for “Visit Brazil,” compared to the same period last year.

We felt that we accomplished all the main objective of the campaign, including reinforcing to the North American public that the country is open for visitors, and it is no longer necessary to get a visa to enter Brazil. In addition, the advertising pieces showcased the main tourist destinations, such as the waterfalls of Foz do Iguaçu and the beaches of the Northeast, as well as the experiences that visitors can have in Brazil, such as the richness of the gastronomy, the culture and the hospitality of the Brazilian people.

Embratur also reinforced in the materials the actions taken in the country to keep citizens and visitors safe from Covid‐19, including the adoption of health security protocols, and the creation of the “Responsible Tourism” seal, issued by the Ministry of Tourism.