The Rio de Janeiro state government and the Interamerican Development Bank have announced major new investments in the region´s tourism offering in a bid to develop a new inclusive approach to tourism that encourages job creation and ´micro-entrepreneurship´.
The Back has committed US$112 million with the government contributing a further US$ 75 million to the initiative, which falls under the tourism ministry´s Prodetur National program, which aims to strengthen Brazil´s tourism policy and consolidate tourism management in a democratic and sustainable way.
The initiative will be focused on two parts of Rio state, the coastal and the hinterland regions. Key aims include: the strengthening of specialised tourism products, the promotion of tourism commercialisation, strengthened institutional structures, better access infrastructure and socio-environmental management.
The involvement of the IDB marks the first time the Rio government has attracted private sector resources for tourism development. Rio´s tourism secretary estimates that the state will receive more than US$7 billion from the 79,000 tourists expected for the 2014 Cup, and more than US$17 billion from 196,000 visitors for the Olympics.