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Brazil received 3.74 million foreign tourists between January and March, in the best result of the historical series, with records also in aviation and strong advancement of Argentinians, Chileans, and Americans.
Brazil started 2026 with an explosive pace in tourism. Between January and March, the country received 3.74 million foreign tourists, the highest volume ever recorded for a first quarter, while arrivals by plane also hit a record, with 2.33 million visitors and an increase of 19.4% compared to the same period in 2025. At the top of this race are the Argentinians, followed by Chileans and Americans, in a movement that places Brazil back at the center of the region’s tourist map.
This data is even more significant because it did not come after a weak year. In 2025, Brazil had already closed its best historical result, with 9.287 million international tourists, a jump of 37.1% over 2024.
What happened at the beginning of 2026 shows that the record was not confined to last year and that the growth curve remains alive.
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Argentinians dominate the line and take Brazil to another level
The size of the Argentinian lead stands out on its own. In the first quarter, Brazil received over 1.64 million Argentinians, a number far above that recorded by any other issuing market.
The Chileans came shortly after, with 324,193 arrivals, and the Americans followed, with 231,767 visitors. The picture is clear: Brazil is surfing very strongly among its South American neighbors, but also maintains consistent traction in more distant and high-value markets.
Embratur has been emphasizing that the expansion of international air connectivity has become a central piece of the growth strategy, focusing on new routes, negotiations with airlines, and the use of market intelligence to attract more flights and turn interest into actual landings.
March closed the quarter with another bang
The quarter was already strong, but March pushed the result to an even higher level. In just the third month of the year, Brazil received 1,053,098 international tourists, an increase of 13% over March 2025.
It was the best March in the series and the perfect closing for a summer in which foreign flow continued to pressure the country’s own records.
Before that, January had already opened 2026 with 1,401,476 international visitors, while February brought the total for the first two months to over 2.6 million. The entire quarter, therefore, was not an isolated peak.
It was a sequence of strong months, with Brazil sustaining growth and spreading this advancement across different markets.
Rio and São Paulo remain giants, but the map begins to spread
In aviation, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro continued as the largest entry points, with 855,191 and 843,615 international arrivals in the quarter.
In the consolidated data of all modes, Rio took the lead, with 884,535 arrivals, ahead of São Paulo, with 866,751.
States such as Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná also gained strength, showing that foreign flow is more distributed than before.
This spreading helps explain why the sector looks at 2026 with such appetite. In March, Embratur also highlighted a growth of 50.21% in the entry of foreign tourists in seven states of the
Northeast in the first two months, driven by a combination of international promotion and more air supply. The message is clear: Brazil does not depend only on one or two postcards to grow.
Brazil enters 2026 looking like a truly hot destination
When a country breaks records after already having its best historical year, the signal changes in size.
Brazil has moved from a recovery phase to a moment of consolidation, with foreign tourists arriving in mass, Argentinians leading the way, and Chileans and Americans reinforcing the growth base.
The competition now is no longer to prove that the country can attract the world. It is to measure how far this rise can still go in 2026.
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