Skift Take
Few other Olympic Games in recent memory created as much controversy as Rio 2016, but all of the airport, hotel, and transportation upgrades bode well for continued tourism development over the long-term.
More than 56 percent of arrivals flying into Brazil for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games were visiting the country for the first time, according to a survey released this week by the Brazilian Tourism Board.
In addition, the 541,000 international tourists who entered the country from July 1 to August 15 represent an increase of 157,000 people over the same period last year. Part of that is due to the visa waiver for visitors from the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia that was implemented specifically for the Games. The waiver impacted 74.7 percent of foreigners who came to Brazil to attend Olympic sporting events.
As expected, the media attention during the first-ever Olympic Games in South America focused heavily on corruption scandals, crime, pollution, operational hiccups, the misdeeds of certain members the American men’s swimming team, and other challenges inside and outside of Rio's Olympic Park.
Much less attention highlighted the strains under which these Games took place.
The Brazilian economy in 2016 is a far cry from that of seven years ago when Brazil won its bid to host the Games and oil prices were exponentially higher.
