Brazilian tourists reduce spending abroad as dollar gets more expensive

What a difference a year makes. The dollar was worth R$1.50 in June 2011 and spending by Brazilian tourists abroad was rising at a gallop. The weak dollar and the strong real made for good shopping in places like Miami and so many Brazilians were going and spending so much that the United States actually began making it easier for them to travel (after trying to halt the flow of illegal immigrants for years, the US was now welcoming big spending Brazilian tourists with open arms. It should be mentioned that with the economic downturn in the US, the flow of illegals from Brazil has practically stopped and, in fact, many Brazilians who lived in the US have been coming back to Brazil).

A year ago, in June 2011, Brazilian tourists spent $1.86 billion around the world. This June, with the dollar now worth R$2.00, spending totaled $1.6 billion, the lowest for the month since 2010.

According to the Central Bank, total spending by Brazilians abroad in the first half of this year totaled $10.7 billion, compared to $10.2 billion in the first half of 2011.

Meanwhile, foreign tourists in Brazil spent $462 million in June, down from $471 in June 2011. In the first half, such spending totaled $3.4 billion, up slightly from $3.3 billion during the same period last year.