The long-lasting impression most visitors leave
Brazil with is of carefree, colorful people dancing and celebrating in the street parades at Carnaval, and of a passion for life and exuberance of spirit that charms visitors from around the world. Tourists descending on the country's fabulous cities, such as hedonistic
Rio de Janeiro, can enjoy the five-star hotels, shopping malls, beautiful beaches, sunny skies and inspirational restaurants without really having to confront the hundreds of shantytowns (favelas) where the poorest of the poor eke out a living in the shadows of the skyscrapers.
With booming mining,
agricultural and manufacturing sectors, Brazil has the highest GDP in
Latin America and is expected to be one of the world's dominant economies by the middle of this century. Brazil also caters well for business tourism and is a favored destination for conventions, congresses and expos, particularly the city of
Sao Paulo, which is the country's largest city and the business capital of Brazil.
Being so vast, larger than continental
United States, Brazil offers a variety of cultures and topographies. The range is evident in the contrast of the
Amazon rain forest to the mountain towns of
Minas Gerais, the urban jungle of Sao Paulo and the vast central plateau around
Brasilia and the world-famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. It all adds up to an exotic and exciting Latin American mix where the common denominators are samba, sunshine, sultry smiles and soccer.
