Brazil: Tourism Minister in favour of legal casinos
The Brazilian Tourism Minister has once again expressed his position in regards to legal casinos to encourage the economy and the sector.
Brazil.- Tourism Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio spoke with Super 91.7 FM radio and defended the legalisation of casinos. He argues that luxury tourism will grow and encourage both job creation and regional income if Brazil legalises casinos.
The Minister presented a proposal for the construction of cruise ship docking ports and the facilitation of touristic casinos. “Our discussion is around the integrated resorts, which are large hotel complexes with shopping centers, shops and just over 2% of the casino space,” he said.
He also said that the measure will boost tourism and generate employment and income for the country. Moreover, the idea is that part of the funds raised in the taxation of these projects be transferred to the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM), securing more money to the Brazilian cities.
Previous support
Antônio had previously made public his support for the legalisation of casinos. He argued that tourist areas with legal casinos would be a great incentive for the local economy. The minister said Brazil currently receives around 6.6 million foreign tourists per year, and the legalisation of casinos could help increase that number to up to 20 million. “The impact will be considerable on the country’s economy,” he said.
Casinos in Brazil
The tourism industry in Brazil has shown great support for the legalisation of casinos. They believe that gambling will attract new visitors and reactivate both the sector and the economy in general. In this context, the president of the Brazilian Institute of Tourism (Embratur), Gilson Machado Neto again defended the casinos.
During an interview with Agência Lusa, he said they propose to imitate the casino model of Macao and Singapore. In addition, he revealed that they will propose to Congress the authorisation to open casinos in integrated resorts as Asia does.
Brazil and Portugal analyse casinos
The Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur) President Gilson Machado Neto met his Portuguese colleague to analyse the development of the industry in October.
Gilson Machado Neto shared his experience with the President of Tourism of Portugal, Luis Araújo in Lisbon. They discussed the tourism management model of Brazil and Portugal and highlighted the importance of attracting foreign tourists.
