As COP30 approaches, Brasil’s Federal Government increases investments, and tourism in Belém soars
With the UN Conference on the horizon, the Brazilian government is investing in the development of tourism in Pará, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. This will be Brasil's first time hosting the event, which will welcome thousands of people to Belém this year. Training professionals in the tourism sector, renovation of central places of the city, and expansion of the hotel network are among the actions that are already underway.
By Franciéli Barcellos de Moraes | francieli.moraes@presidencia.gov.br
As 2025 approaches, Brasil and the world are getting closer to the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, to be held for the first time in the world's largest tropical forest: the Amazon Rainforest. The capital of the state of Pará, Belém, the host city of the event, is preparing to welcome over 40,000 people between November 10 and 21 this year, according to the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (Fundação Getúlio Vargas/FGV) estimates.
Data from the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion (Agência Brasileira de Promoção Internacional do Turismo/EMBRATUR) already revealed an increase in demand for Belém as an international destination. A comparison between January to November 2023 (before the city was announced as the host city of COP) and January to November 2024 indicates an increase of over 59% in air arrivals to the capital of Pará. While in the period of these 11 months, in 2023 there were 18,655 arrivals; in 2024, the number was 29,685, a year of record movement at Júlio César Ribeiro International Airport. Citizens of Suriname, France, the United States, Portugal, and the Netherlands make up the main groups to have landed in Belém over the last year.
Training for professionals in the sector, who will dedicate themselves to a public with defined characteristics, focused on sustainability; attention to the hotel network, with the construction of new hotels and the restoration and modernization of existing facilities; and renovation of central places such as the Ver-o-Peso Complex (Complexo Ver-o-Peso), the largest open-air market in Latin America, and the São Brás Market (Mercado de São Brás), which was reopened in December 2024, are among the actions in the field of tourism. The Market was the first project delivered by the Federal Government and the city of Belém within the scope of revitalizations for COP30.
"We are working to ensure that tourists who come to Belém may visit our Amazon Rainforest and stay longer, having a memorable and sustainable experience. What is at stake at COP30 is a new development model for humanity. We will show, in practice, how tourism is an activity connected to the posed challenges and can promote sustainability, generating employment and income with positive impacts for the environment and for the communities that receive visitors", said President of EMBRATUR Marcelo Freixo,
Focus on tourism qualification
In addition to the construction work, other initiatives by the Federal Government are already underway with a view to the Conference. In June last year, the Ministry of Tourism (Ministério do Turismo), in partnership with EMBRATUR and Caixa Econômica Federal, signed a cooperation agreement that foresees BRL 6 million in investments to develop community-based tourism in Belém and on the metropolitan islands surrounding the city.
The focus is on developing authentic experience projects with the active participation of riverside residents, leveraging what is significant in the region. “For the first time in history, we are going to invest such a significant amount to develop a tourism model that brings people who need it most with a sustainable source of income while also providing memorable tourist experiences,” declared the Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino, at the time.
In November, the first Tourism School in Brazil was inaugurated also in Belém. The choice of the city for the pioneering project of the Ministry of Tourism was motivated precisely by the proximity of the COP in Pará. With in-person classes in Belém, Santarém, Vigia, and Bragança — as well as online classes — there are 4,700 places available for courses such as “Business Management for Tourism”, “Environmental Education and Sustainability”, “Governance for Family Accommodation” and “Tourist Attractions Guide”, in addition to languages such as English and Spanish.
Federal investments
The Federal Government's investments are of around BRL 4.7 billion, including funds from Brasil’s General Budget of the Union (Orçamento Geral da União), the National Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social /BNDES), and Itaipu Binacional. This amount translates into a series of works and activities that aim to meet various demands for an event that will be under the global spotlight, welcoming heads of state, diplomats, investors, activists, and delegations from the 193 member countries of the United Nations, whose mission is to consolidate new actions to address the urgent call to action against climate change.