Brazil continues to climb the ladder of success as it moves up two places in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) rating, overtaking Japan and China. In the ranking, showing the number of events hosted by each country, Brazil is the only country in Latin America within the top ten.

In total, Brazil hosted 304 international events last year – showing a 10% growth compared to 2010, when 275 events were held. The number of events hosted by the country has risen by an unbelievable 390% since 2003, when Embratur became exclusively responsible for promoting the country abroad.

The ICCA has also listed the cities that hosted the most international events (itinerant events with fixed frequency and at least 50 participants) in 2011. The highest number of international congresses and conventions in Brazil took place in Rio de Janeiro, while some of the other host cities include São Paulo, Salvador, Brasília and Florianopolis. With 69 events, Rio de Janeiro was 27th in the global ranking of cities, ahead of Zurich, Melbourne and Oslo.

“It is an exciting time for Brazil with upcoming mega-events, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” says the Chairman of Embratur (the Brazilian Tourist Board), Flávio Dino. “Destinations that have not yet had much global recognition will find themselves able to compete as hosts on the international stage. We have already seen the number of Brazilian cities that are hosting congresses and conventions listed by ICCA more than double in eight years - we can expect that number to rise substantially over the next few years.”

This year Embratur launched an Event Hosting Support Program, offering R$3.8 million (£1.2 million) of support action to public agencies and not-for-profit companies to help attract international events. The closing date for the Event Hosting Support Program is 23 May. “Event tourism brings in revenue outside of high season periods, as well as this guaranteeing more continuous occupancy for hotels and all travel agents in the city,” says the Chairman of Embratur. “We want to consolidate Brazil as one of the greatest event destinations in the world”.