Half a million tourists to visit Brazil during Olympics

The most desirable destination for this summer holiday is certainly Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, host of the Olympic Games. More than 50,000 foreign visitors are expected to come here and support their favorite teams or just enjoy the beauty of sport, the Brazilian government declared for the local press.

This impressive number of tourists is a strong incentive for Brazilian tourism and so for the country’s economy. Official voices of the Brazilian Hotel Association declared that, even the bad publicity and safety concerns, there haven't been any cancellations. More, due to the cheaper currency, they says Rio's hotels are almost 100% booked.

Mario Andrada, spokesman for Rio 2016, said they want the games to be the turn-around moment and bring good energy. "We have been working for almost 10 years for this moment to happen," he told in an interview for CNN. "We're very confident in the Olympic tickets that we're going to sell." More, he added that Brazilians are always late buyers.

According to the Central Bank representatives, due to the number of tourists and also due to the international delegations, the Olympics will bring to the Brazilian economy revenue about$200 million US dollars. The amount was not confirmed yet but was made based on the statistics from the last three Olympics - Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Additionally, the bank said that while the Olympics would lead to a “small” impact on tourism at first, they would contribute to more tourists coming to the country in the future, especially Rio de Janeiro.