Brazil welcomed the world to the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2014 yesterday with a bright, colourful opening ceremony in the city of Sao Paulo. The hosts also won their opening game, despite a scare, beating Croatia 3-1 in a hard fought match.

Belo Horizonte – or “Beautiful Horizon” – will be one of the host cities at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A city renowned for its passion for the beautiful game and the intense rivalry between its two largest football teams, Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro, it has a number of sport tourism attractions.

Brazil celebrated the entry of six million foreign tourists during 2013 when, Nadia Panis, an Argentine tourist that broke the record, arrived on Thursday December 5th at Antônio Carlos Jobim (Galeão) International Airport in Rio de Janeiro and was greeted with festivities hosted by the president of Embratur, Flávio Dino. Having achieved this historic milestone, Embratur is now working towards reaching a new goal for the number of foreign tourists visiting Brazil next year.

Headlines in the recent build up to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil next year have been decidedly mixed of late. Stadium closures, fan riots, and infrastructure delays have all caused concern, but Breaking Travel News here finds the private sector may yet save the day.

With the London 2012 Olympics over, the spotlight has started to shift to Brazil, which will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Brazil reported increases of 9.9 percent in revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the first seven months year to date, led by 14.5-percent increase in average daily rate (ADR) in local currency, according a recent report.

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil has become the first city to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Urban Cultural Landscape category. So far sites listed in the category have included rural areas, traditional agricultural systems, historic gardens and places of religious significance.