Brazil’s efforts to attract tourists from abroad were intensified during the World Cup in South Africa. (Courtesy of Embratur)

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – Pristine beaches, sunny weather and ecotourism welcome five million tourists annually to South America’s largest country.

But a nation with a variety of attractions as broad as its eight million km2 territory (5 million square miles) has launched a plan to generate the amount of money spent by tourists to US$18 billion by 2020.

Tourists spend nearly US$6 billion per year annually in the country, according to the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), the federal agency in charge of marketing the country as a tourism destination. From January through June of this year, foreign visitors brought US$2.94 billion in revenue to the country, the most for a period since Brazil’s Central Bank began keeping records in 1947, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

“We want to double the number of foreign visitors in our country,” says Jeanine Pires, Embratur’s president. “Our goal is to reach a number ranging from 10 to 11 million by 2020.”

With the Aquarela Plan, started in 2005, officials have established annual marks as steps toward reaching their lofty goal set for 2020.

The plan is bold, but the country has two major events that could position it for a financial boon: World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympics.

“Ever since Brazil was chosen to host the World Cup, we have started a project to learn from the results accomplished by other countries; we followed up Germany’s and South Africa’s performance,” Jeanine Pires says. “We are going to have a series of important events, such as the 2011 Military World Games and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.”

Brazil’s efforts to attract tourists from abroad were intensified during the World Cup in South Africa. The Espaço Casa Brasil – Brazil Sensational Experience, set up in Johannesburg, was visited by more than 20,000 from 102 countries. In 26 days, cultural activities, seminars, business rounds and workshops were carried out to market Brazil to the rest of the world.

The strategy being carried out to promote the country abroad also encompasses the “O Brasil te chama. Celebre a vida aqui” (Brazil calls you. Celebrate life here) campaign. Embratur will invest US$30 million in the program by the end of the year.

Television networks from 70 countries started broadcasting 30-second Brazilian-themed commercials since the end of World Cup 2010.

Later this month, the video displaying Brazil’s tourist attractions will be shown in more than 100 countries, a total of 400 million people.

Brazil’s attractions also are being advertised at airports, public transportation and billboards in a dozen countries.

The campaign includes advertising in the press of 27 countries, as well as a book, videos on YouTube and on a website profiling the 12 cities hosting World Cup 2014 games.

Embratur’s goal is to attract tourists from across the globe to visit the country in 2014 and 2016, when it hosts international sporting events.

But Jeanine Pires said the majority of visitors will arrive from Brazil’s fellow soccer-loving South American nations.

“We’ll have five other national teams from this continent,” Jeanine Pires says. “And some of the teams from the region, such as Uruguay and Paraguay, had good performances at the last World Cup, so this is also a plus for Brazil.”