Over the course of 2014 Brazil welcomed 6,429,852 international tourists, boosted primarily by hosting the World Cup.

For the first time, the country exceeded the six million mark for foreign entries, with the number of visitors representing a 10.6 per cent increase against 2013 figures.

Argentina continues to be the top country for Brazil-bound tourists, with 1,743,930 Argentinians visiting in 2014, followed by the United States (656,801) and Chile (336,650).

The main port of entry for the country remains São Paulo, through which 2,219,917 visitors entered.

Rio de Janeiro, which was the gateway for 1,597,153 visitors, registered the highest increase in the entry of foreign visitors, with 389,353 more people than in 2013, a 32.2 per cent increase for the period.

The data released today is part of the 2015 Annual Report on Tourism Statistics from the Brazilian ministry of tourism.

The figures reveal that 70.6 per cent of international tourists arrived in Brazil by air and 27.3 per cent travelled by road, with the remainder arriving by boat.

The tourist figures clearly demonstrate that the global impact of football was instrumental in the increase in tourism for 2014.

In June, the month during which the FIFA World Cup was held, the arrival of international tourists almost tripled, jumping from 350,025 in 2013 to 1,018,876 in 2014.

“The numbers show that the World Cup was big business for tourism.

“Now the challenge is to guarantee conditions for the sector to keep growing,” commented minister of tourism, Henrique Alves.

“Mega events are excellent catalysts for increasing tourism flows for destinations, but in order to maintain consistent growth, we need to address structural issues and approach tourism with professionalism in Brazil.”