RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil, host country of the next FIFA World Cup, opened a 3,000-square-meter exhibition space in South Africa Tuesday to promote the country’s tourism.
The Casa Brasil, or Brazil House, located in an upmarket neighborhood in Johannesburg, will provide promotional information about the 12 cities which will host the World Cup in 2014. It also features an exposition on soccer.
The initiative, which cost 10 million reais (5.58 million U.S. dollars), aims to attract investors to Brazil and promote the country’s tourism in the next few years.
Tourism Minister Luiz Barretto said the World Cup would increase the number of foreign tourists from the current five million to eight million in 2014.
“It is the first kick to 2014 and the chance to make Brazil a great tourism destination,” he said.
To receive more tourists, Brazil would have to improve its tourism infrastructure, including hotels and airports. The country’s economic development would make it easier to make the improvements, he said.
