"This forecast tellsa story of continuing positive growth in Brazil despite recent volatility," said Wellington Costa, president of GBTA Brazil. "The encouraging turnaround for international outbound business travel spending paired with expected domestic growth as well shows suppliers and travel managers that Brazil is a key market to be in for businesses expanding globally." "With the forecast for increased business travel to and from Brazil, travel will continue to be an important sector of the Brazilian economy," said Percival Jatoba, Vice President of Products of Visa Brazil. "Visa is committed to providing a secure, glo-
bally accepted payment option for business travelers, a vital step toward economic growth." Infrastructure Growth Moving Forward With World Cup and Summer Olympics Looming Brazil continues its race to expand infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastructure, as the country prepares to host the World Cup later this year and the Summer Olympics in 2016. In the World Economic Forum's 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness report, Brazil ranked 107 out of 144 countries for quality of infrastructure falling three spots from the previous year. Brazil seeks major improvement including modernization of ports, the expansion of
airports and the repair of crumbling highways, and is attempting to meet these challenges through privatization. While it will be a challenge to complete these projects in time for the World Cup, these efforts should have significant impacts on trade and business travel in Brazil over the next decade. World Cup Impact on Business Travel. Travel managers who already have arrangements in place for travel during the World Cup are in a good position. Those looking to make arrangements during that timeframe should act quickly as it's possible they could face higher prices and limited availability as the event nears.