Brazil is justly proud of its rich colonial and historical heritage and the buildings and monuments that are so intriguing to millions of tourists every year.
So, in order to develop the concept further, President Dilma Rousseff has announced recently a massive new national investment in the country’s tourist sites, particularly the historic ones. She and her administration feel strongly that there is still a great deal of untapped tourist potential for these areas and they are determined to invest to develop it.
On Tuesday 20th August Mrs. Rousseff made a keynote speech on the topic in the old colonial city of Sao Joao del Rei, situated in the state of Minas Gerais. “I have no doubt” she declared “that our historic cities are an extraordinary testimonial to our country and our people.”
She went on to explain that her government is committing an investment of more than 1.5 Billion Brazilian Reais to the project (that’s equal to about 660 million US Dollars). The money will be allocated among a number of prime locations and the cities and towns that administer them. The two-year programme will operate in several stages, the first of which to include about 40 different locations throughout the nation.
The sites will be allowed and encouraged to spend targeted money not just on restoring buildings and other structures but also associated social and cultural development locations too.
The various municipalities, working together with the national government, have already identified 425 historical building and outdoor areas that are in need of restoration, either major or minor.
But what exactly are the main (or most popular) tourist sites in Brazil? Opinions differ of course but on anyone’s list the following must surely appear (together with many others).
- The Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. This celebrated structure overlooks a huge area, located as it is on top of the seven hundred metre tall Corcovado Mountain. The statue itself, with the famous outstretched arms of the Saviour, is very nearly forty metres tall and is visited by many thousands of people on average every week.
- The Carnival in Rio. This annual event attracts over two million people for each day it performs. Other cities have carnivals too but nothing to rival this.
- Ouro Preto. The name of this colonial gold-rush town means ‘black gold’. It boasts a wealth of churches and municipal buildings dating back to the 1700’s or even earlier.
- The Amazon River. The world’s second longest river (some say the first) at more than four thousand miles long, with its associated hinterland including half the remaining world’s rainforest
- Olinda. A famous historic city on the north-east coast near Recife. Its unique centre is a magnet for all who love Brazil’s architectural heritage
