How and Why Brazil Became an Important Destination for Travelers and Tourists - Case Study Example

Project Brazil Name Student ID Date Map of Brazil Introduction Tourism is one sector which has been facing strong growth in the current times as the world markets experiences globalizations (de Almeida 2011, p. 485). Emerging economies have become a major target for tourist as they offer new experiences. In this way, Brazil as one of the emerging economies has become an important tourism destination in the world in the recent times. The presence of historical, cultural and natural sites and creative advertising has promoted the country’s image as an exciting tourist destination. Boniface and Cooper (2001, p.103) held that geographically speaking, Brazil remains diverse and a strategically located country with unique features for tourism experience. Brazil is the largest South American nation neighboring on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and borders every South American country except Ecuador (Questconnect 2005). Brazil is ranked as the fifth-largest country by size and population. Brazil’s key physical features which tourist are likely to see include waterfalls, rain forests rivers and different animals. The climate also plays part in tourism attraction. Crocitti & Vallance (2011, p. 56) stated that Brazil experiences up to five major climatic conditions, including tropical, equatorial, highland tropical, semiarid, subtropical and temperate hence every different tourist can fit in any type of climate. The Amazon River, Amazon Rain forest, and Iguaçu Falls are the main features which the country boasts of. Therefore, this report will present the description and analysis of Brazil as a tourism destination. To do this, the report will provide a map of Brazil, describe the kind of society, ecotourism attractions, transport, accommodation and gastronomic experiences tourists would find in Brazil. In addition, this report will explain how and why Brazil became an important destination for travelers and tourists. The kind of society the tourists would find in Brazil Brazil’s ethnic diversity and why Brazil is ethnically diverse Studies have shown that Brazil has numerous ethnic groups which have lasted and coexisted for several centuries. National Research by Household Sample research of 2010 claimed that there were five ethnic groups in Brazil including: White, Pardo, Black, Asian and Amerindian (Crocitti & Vallance 2011, p. 81). White forms the largest ethnic group with 48.45 percent of the total population, followed by Padro which has 43.82 percent. Black represents 6.85 percent, Asian 0.59 percent and Amerindian with 0.27 percent. Natives are the ethnic group who inhabited Brazil prior to the European invasion of the country in 1500 BC. However, Rezende-Parker, Morrison & Ismail (2003, p. 245) posited that with colonization by the Portuguese, Brazilians were greatly assimilated and influenced by Portuguese culture. Later, there was a massive immigration of African Slaves, Arab, Japanese, Chinese and Koreas who have settled in the country. The presence of different ethnic group shows why and how Brazil is ethnically diverse. Patrícia & Augusta da (2010, p. 199) claimed that the immigration, intermarriage and intermingling have made Brazil look like the country with a developed standardized national culture. The situation manifested itself when the government singled out Portuguese as the national language of Brazil. In fact, today, Portuguese is greatly used by the media, firms, government and institutions of learning to conduct their daily business transactions. Gössling and Hall (2005, p. 134) argued that ethnic diversity is also contributed by other religious differences. In Brazil, tourists will find a society where catholic dominate as the major religion. This is because the country is mostly influenced by Portuguese culture (Discovery Channel 2004, p. 67). However, there are also the presence of traditional religious practices and Protestantism which are also Christians. Immigration practices have also led to non-Christian religious practices such as Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Bahái Faith. Knowing ethnic diversity can help a tourist become aware hence reducing chances of provoking members of other ethnicity knowingly or unknowingly. Despite Brazil attempting to create a national culture, the ethnic diversity still exists in terms of features like building, music, cooking, language and food (Patrícia & Augusta da 2010, p. 201). Sources of wealth and employment in Brazil The research carried out by OECD (2005) had established that Brazilians derive their wealth and employment from agriculture, manufacture, mining and service industries. Agriculture is the largest sector contributing to the largest share of employment. Mining is the second largest industry followed by manufacturing which provides thousands jobs to Brazilians (OECD 2005). Many citizens work in mining fields or plants which export minerals like Zinc, copper and gold to the Bolivia, US, European Union, China, Chile and Japan. Other industries which provides income to the locals include cement, energy, textiles and chemical. Tourism is also a major source of income since it is ranked as the third largest sector. In the tourism industry, people work as tour guides, hoteliers, accountants and drivers. In addition, Crocitti and Vallance (2011, p. 51) contended that some operate individual businesses in services sectors like education, transport industry and real estate. The focus on mining, fishing energy, textiles and chemical led to growth of Brazil to a middle income country. How and why Brazil became an important destination for travelers and tourists The research has established that a journey for Brazil to become an important tourist destination started in the 16th century. When the explorer Pedro Cabral first came to Brazil, the first people he found were Amerindians who are thought to have migrated either from Central Asia or across Pacific (Discovery Channel 2004, p. 67). In other words, the process of making Brazil an important destination for travelers and tourists started as a result of human movement. Pedro Cabral with other Portuguese migrated to Brazil in quest of wealth. In the process, they converted indigenous people to Christians. The movement of Portuguese to Brazil created an image of Brazil as a tourist destination and is still used today by government to promote Brazilian tourism Industry (Bandyopadhyay & Nascimento 2010, p. 934). Bandyopadhyay and Nascimento (2010, p. 934) went ahead to argue that the convergence of people in Brazil also shows an image of ‘tropical paradise’ and happy people who are ‘as wild as the jungle’. The studies on Brazil showed that the Portuguese brought in African slaves to provide the labour force for them in farms and other activities (Selka 2013, p. 409). The human movement of such, together with migration from Asia, Middle East and Europe led to the creation of the multicultural community. Today, the Brazilian tourism sector applies multiculturalism as a factor to market its tourism industry. These multicultural within the Amazon jungle have different dances and artifact like souvenirs which they market to tourists. In addition, Selka (2013, p. 410-412) stated that American tourists visit Candomble festival, which takes place in Bahia and is used by the Brazilian tourism ministry to demonstrate the impact of the African culture on Brazilian population. Japanese who migrated to Brazil also moved with their culture which they showcase to international tourists quite often. Japanese of Japanese culture have made Brazil an important destination for travelers and tourists. Discovery Channel (2004, p. 200-201) claimed that, while in Brazil, tourists or Travelers can visit Liberdade to see for themselves the Japanese immigrants’ descendants. Places like Olinda has made Brazil made become an important destination for travelers and tourists since the town still preserves Portuguese culture and is even listed in the World Heritage as a colonial town (Discovery Channel 2004, p. 248-249). Another research by Boniface and Cooper (2001, p. 335) asserted that Brazilian tourism started in Rio de Janeiro as the Portuguese royal family settled there in the 19th century. Later, the government discovered Rio Carnival and created department of Tourism in Rio de Janeiro to promote the feature and the town as an international tourist destination (Taylor 1982, p. 302). The government then focuses on Rio de Janeiro’s beaches and improving facilities such constructing hotels and international airport to attract more tourists. Rezende-Parker, Morrison &, Ismail (2003, p.246) claimed that the other factors which have made Brazil become an important destination for travelers and tourists include the presence of historical and cultural sites such Tijuca National Park, and events like World Cup which took place 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games. The Carnival of Rio and how it reflects Brazil’s multicultural origins Taylor (1982) contended that the Rio Carnival is a globally famous festival which is annually organized in Rio de Janeiro just before Lent and is regarded as the biggest festival globally bringing together over two million people. The Rio Carnival was first organized in 1723 and has grown over the years to be the biggest of its kind. Normally, the classic carnival or Rio parade is packed with revelers and the adornments from various samba schools within. Taylor (1982, p. 305) defined samba school as a composed collaboration of the domestic neighbors who have a common background such as dance or culture and attends the carnival together. In the Carnival of Rio, people showcase African-Brazilian, Portuguese, French, Austrian and German cultures. In the 16th Rio de Janeiro welcomed various immigrants from different ethnicity who came and settled there and now forms part of city’s culture (de la Torre, Muñiz & Korstanje 2013, p. 149). The studies claimed that when the Portuguese royal family first came to Brazil they settled in Rio de Janeiro. Other explorers followed, settling in Rio de Janeiro. As a result, they interacted with Native Brazilians and influencing their culture. To date, there are descendants of these Portuguese who also take part in the Carnival of Rio. Some Indian, French, Austrian and German explorers also migrate and settled in Rio de Janeiro increasing number of ethnic groups in that city. de Almeida (2011, p. 485) contended that all these ethnic groups participate in Carnival of Rio and showcase their culture through dance, songs and artifacts. Palhares (2012, p. 103) argued that it has been easy for Brazilian- Indians to join the festival because Goa, India used to organize carnivals too. In this perspective, the Carnival of Rio reflects Brazil’s multicultural origins. The way in which a well-informed tour guide would interpret the Iguacu falls. Iguacu Falls sometimes referred to as Iguazu is a famous tourist destination located between Misiones, Argentina and Paraná, Brazil (Bugbog 2016). The waterfalls split the river into two including upper and lower Iguazu. The tour guide should help tourist understand how Iguazu Falls came to be in terms of name and history. Crocitti and Vallance (2011, p. 87) argues that the history of Brazil showed that the word "Iguazu" is derived from Tupi or from the Guarani words ‘y’, denotation ‘water’, and the ‘ûasú’ implying ‘big’. The name came to be before Europeans settled in Parana Brazil. Discovery Channel (2004, p. 154) contended that a god organized to marry a good-looking woman, Naipí, who escaped with her worldly lover Tarobá inside a boat. In a fury, that god carved the river, forming waterfalls and cursing the lover to a fall. Another version on formation of the fall claimed that it was formed as a result volcanic activity which took place more than 120 years ago. However, it was the Europeans who first observed Iguacu Falls. History has it that Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, A Spanish explorer was the first person to observe the fall on his way to Paraguay in 1541 (Discovery Channel 2004, p. 167). The kinds of activities that is available for tourists who visit the falls The water contributes greatly towards the tourist attraction in Brazil. Discovery Channel (2004, p. 178) contended that the fall is surrounded by national parks like Iguaçu National Park in Brazilain side and Iguazú National Park on Argentine side. Iguacu Falls offer visitors the opportunity to have different experiences such as excursions, skiing and fishing among others (Gouveˆa 2004, p. 75). Whilst at this waterfall the surrounding vegetation is home animals like Jaguars, tigers, monkeys, alligators, crocodiles and coatis. In addition, there are several birds and insect which can be watched or for research. Visiting Iguacu Falls also give tourist a chance to interact with locals and learn about their culture in terms of language and attire (Terrero 2014, p. 18). The contributions of the Carnival of Rio and Copacabana beach to the tourism image of Brazil. Why is this image controversial? The image of a country is very important and gives it a comparative advantage. In most cases, people think that tourism gives a country image. However, in some cases it does not. de la Torre, Muñiz and Korstanje (2013, p. 154) claimed that migration and tourism activities such Carnival of Rio and Copacaban have negatively portrayed the image of Brazil. Researchers have argued that from the time Brazil was colonized by Portuguese more than 500 years ago its image has been presented as the tropical paradise and a place of the wild people. In addition, Bandyopadhyay and Nascimento (2010, p. 937) pointed out that the image of Brazil has been depicted as a somewhat sexual playground; hence some tourist comes to country to find the truth about such image. Studies showed that prior to 18th century, such images were portrayed through stories. However, this has changed as such images are now depicted via photographs. Terrero (2014, p. 6) claimed the world is treated to images where people are dancing in skimpy dresses during Carnival of Rio and even at the Copacabana beach. Similarly, writings during colonial period depicted Brazilian women as dangerous and alluring to Western male. The writings have also shown nude Indian women portraying them as readily available and can be exploited for sex by European males (Bandyopadhyay & Nascimento 2010, p. 937). The message may be used to attract tourists, but the fact is that, they remain controversial as they show the negative of Brazil. The images show a society which justifies moral decay. Similarly, using of Africans as slave in Brazil shows a controversial society which accepts human suffering. The importance of mega-events in the history of tourism in Brazil and the positive and negative effects of staging these events Brazilian tourism has several events which is important to its image and economy. Some of the mega-events in the history of tourism in Brazil include Carnival of Rio, Brazilian Carnival, World Cup and the Olympic Games (de la Torre, Muñiz & Korstanje 2013, p. 147). Taylor (1982, p. 305) stated that the Brazilian Carnaval is a festival which is organized 46 days prior to Easter. It was adapted by Christian in quest to bid farewell to the bad thing which has happened to humanity and welcome the season of religious practices and discipline, that is, the death of Christ and resurrection. On the other hand, the Rio Carnival is a global famous festival which is annually organized in Rio de Janeiro just before Lent and regarded as the biggest festival globally bringing together over two million (Taylor 1982, p. 304) . The positive effects of these events are that they bring people together. For instance, both Brazilian Carnival and Carnival of Rio bring Christians in Brazil together hence strengthening Christianity as a religion. Korstanje, Tzanelli and Clayton (2014, p. 489) argued that the positive effect of these events is that people get to know other cultures, especially sporting events like World Cup and Olympic Games. In addition, citizens of other countries who come to these events bring foreign exchange hence improving the economy. However, these events have negative impacts too. Rezende-Parker, Morrison & Ismail (2003, p. 247) asserted that during these events, people engage in immoral behavior such as sexual advances in public or skimpy dressing. These images portray a country as one which accepts immorality. The kinds of ecotourism attractions Brazil has developed and the impacts of ecotourism on the people of Brazil. Brazil has developed various kinds of ecotourism attractions including waterfalls, forests, rivers, beaches and mountains among others. Some of the known ecotourism attractions consist of Iguacu Falls, Amazon rainforest, Pantanal, Tapajos River, Caatinga, Copacabana beach, Mantinquiera Mountains and The Serra do Mar among others (Gouveˆa 2004, p. 73). These features attract tourists who are lovers of natural habitats. Some of these habits were not accessible and the government has since developed them to potential tourist attraction sites. The ecotourism has had various impacts on the Brazilian people. Gouveˆa (2004, p. 75) opined that ecotourism has enabled the government to conserve environment hence reducing the effects of pollution on people. This kind of tourism encourages people to recycle, conserve water, forest, and energy efficiency (Gouveˆa 2004, p. 77). Ecotourism has provided economic opportunities to local communities of Brazil. Ecotourism has also given Brazilians an opportunity to appreciate natural habitats. Factors which motivate tourists to visit the favela-dwellers of Rio de Janeiro and the Pataxo people in the Amazon jungle and the impact of tourism on the inhabitants of the favelas and on the Pataxo people Freire-Medeiros (2008, p. 582) claimed that Favela is basically a slum in Brazil, which was first created by soldiers who had no shelter to live in the 19th century. It took few years for Black slaves to move in and dominate the area. The rural migration in the 1970s also made many people to scramble for the area (Freire-Medeiros 2008, p. 584). Favela has since become a tourist attraction site. The tourists are motivated by the images being shown in the TV and picture to visit the area. The motivation is through curiosity of seeing how the poor survive in the area. The tourist puts their lifes into such perspective of staying in slums. Freire-Medeiros (2008, p. 585) argued that tourists favour slums areas due to their ecological distinctiveness and unique adventure opportunities. Tourists are also motivated by the different cultures which are showcased by Pataxo people. Martin (2013) pointed out that these people used to speak a language called Pataxó Hã-Ha-Hãe but have since adopted Portuguese. On Amazon Jungle’s perspective, tourists are motivated by natural habits, the culture of dwellers, and presence of unique animals, insects, birds and plants. Amazon Jungle gives tourists opportunities for bird and animal watching and learning (Terrero 2014, p. 12). Tourism is not just about animals and Amazon Jungle, but presents an opportunity to tourists to relax, enjoy sun-bathing and water-skiing. Design an original brochure showing the sights you would like to see while you are touring Brazil. The kinds of gastronomic experiences available for tourists in Brazil The study of Brazilian cuisine shows that foods vary from region to region showing different cultures of various ethnic communities who have settled in Brazil (Patrícia & Augusta da 2010, p. 199). Tourists can expect to experience a touch of native, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and Indian culture. For example, Bayor (2011, p. 34) opined that tourists visiting various regions in Brazil will find foods like moqueca, vatapá, acarajé and polenta. However, Brazil has made some food to be national and appreciated by all. One of the national cuisines that tourists are likely to come across in Brazil is Feijoada (Patrícia & Augusta da 2010, p. 200). Brazil is also known for coffee, Fried potatoes, fried banana, fried cassava, fried cheese and fried meat. In addition, Brazil is known for popular liquor called cachaça. Over the years, Brazil has developed as a tourism destination has various malls, restaurants, hotels and cafes where tourists can access these foods. The kinds of transport tourists use to visit Brazil and to travel within Brazil Brazil transport infrastructure has faced a massive development over the years as the country grows. Rail transport was one of the first transport mode Brazilians adopted. Discovery Channel (2004, p. 143) stated that rail transport started in the 19th century, and the travelers used trains to access towns and cultural attraction sites. Even though Brazil still uses standard gauge railways, they have improved as now use high speed trains such as metro to access major cities like Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Salvador, Brasilia and Porto Alegre among others (Crocitti & Vallance 2011, p. 37). Brazil also has ships which tourist and local can use to access different ports such Natal, Porto Alegre, Fortaleza, Santos and Salvador. In addition, the government has improved road and air transport which local and tourists can use to access tourist attraction sites like Amazon Jungle, Iguacu Falls and to connect to other historical attractions across the country. Brazil has more than 60 airports across the country (Crocitti & Vallance 2011, p. 44). Brazil also has aerial tramway means of transport with Sugarloaf Cable car being located in RIO de Janeiro at Sugarloaf Mountain and top of Morro da Urca. Another one is at Pocos de Calas in Minas Gerais State (Crocitti & Vallance 2011). The kinds of accommodation available to tourists in Brazil Brazilian growth in the tourism sector has also been marked with development of accommodation for tourists. de Almeida (2011, p. 486) postulated that private developers have used the opportunity to build hotels, restaurants, guest house, lodges and motel across attractive cities to host both local and international tourists. Attraction sites like Amazon jungle have Amazon hotel where guest can spend their night after spending the whole day watching animals, birds and even water-skiing (Discovery Channel 2004, p. 201). Tourists visiting Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro have hotels like Rio Othon Palace and Copacabana to spend their time while in Brazil. Some tourist attraction sites also use accommodation as a factor in marketing for their services. Conclusion The report has provided a comprehensive research into Brazilian Tourism sector. The report is not only an eye opener to the international tourists but can also be used by local tourists looking an attraction site offering a new experience in Brazil. Some of the issues covered or discussed in this report include the map of Brazil, how Brazil became a tourist destination, kind of experiences attractions or events available to tourists. Some of the attractions discussed consist of Carnival of Rio and Copacabana beach, Iguacu falls, Amazon Jungle, favela and Pataxo people. The events and attractions are rich in culture in terms of language, dancing and artifacts. It simply means tourist yarning for different experience will not miss in Brazil. However, the government of Brazil must put various measures to ensure that the bad images which has culminated in the tourism sector over the years does not destroy the image of country and even its people of they are to attract more visitors. References Bandyopadhyay, R & Nascimento, K 2010, ‘Where fantasy becomes reality’: how tourism forces made Brazil a sexual playground’, Journal of sustainable tourism, vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 933-949. Bayor, R.H 2011, Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans, Georgia Institute of Technology. Boniface, B & Cooper, C 2001, Worldwide destinations: the geography of travel and tourism, 3rd edn., Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford. Bugbog 2016, Brazil Travel Guide – South America, Viewed 28th May 2016 from http://www.bugbog.com/exotic_places/brazil_travel.html Crocitti, J. 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