Brazil Leads South America with 60 Blue Flag Beaches
With 60 seashores and marinas now holding Blue Flag certification for the 2025–2026 season, Brazil has cemented its place as South America’s main vacation spot for sustainable coastal tourism. Behind the numbers lies a coordinated effort involving public authorities, native communities and tourism stakeholders, all working to show environmental accountability right into a long-term aggressive benefit.
On this interview, Bruno Reis, Director of Advertising and marketing, Enterprise and Sustainability at Embratur explains what has pushed Brazil’s rise within the world Blue Flag rankings, how traveller expectations are evolving, and the way the nation is utilizing sustainability as a basis for long-term tourism growth. Excerpts:
Brazil now leads South America in Blue Flag certifications. What has made this doable?
Brazil’s management within the Blue Flag Programme is the results of a structured and collective effort. The certification relies on 38 technical standards that consider water high quality, environmental administration, infrastructure, security and environmental training. Many of those areas fall underneath public accountability, which has inspired municipalities to undertake extra built-in and environment friendly administration practices.
Past infrastructure, one of the vital elements has been steady funding in environmental training. The programme actively engages native communities within the safety and sustainable use of pure assets, making a shared sense of possession. This collaboration between public authorities, civil society and the non-public sector has been important in positioning Brazil as a reference for sustainable tourism in South America. The problem now could be to take care of and develop these achievements over time, guaranteeing that Brazil continues to strengthen its function as a worldwide mannequin for accountable vacation spot administration.
With world journey shifting towards sustainability, what developments are you seeing amongst worldwide travellers?
Worldwide travellers in the present day are far more attentive to sustainability and are actively looking for locations that provide genuine and accountable experiences. There’s rising curiosity in ecotourism and journey tourism that mix nature, biodiversity conservation and respect for native communities.
Past conventional sun-and-beach tourism, we’re additionally seeing robust progress in nautical tourism and different nature-based segments. These experiences enable guests to attach extra deeply with their environment whereas having fun with excessive environmental requirements.
One other vital pattern is gradual journey. Travellers wish to spend extra time in locations, immerse themselves in native tradition, gastronomy and on a regular basis life, and have extra significant experiences. This shift helps longer stays and better common spending, whereas additionally strengthening Brazil’s comfortable energy internationally. The growth of Blue Flag-certified seashores and marinas helps reinforce Brazil’s picture as a vacation spot that delivers high quality, security and sustainability, which is more and more decisive for travellers when selecting the place to go.
How is Brazil guaranteeing that sustainability additionally delivers long-term advantages for native communities?
Brazil has been working to raised combine public coverage, native communities and the tourism sector in order that sustainability interprets into actual social and financial affect. One vital step on this route is the launch of the Plano Brasis – Worldwide Tourism Advertising and marketing Plan 2025–2027, which gives strategic tips to strengthen Brazil’s presence in world markets. The plan helps state and municipal governments by aligning native actions with nationwide priorities, serving to optimise assets and develop alternatives for tourism-related companies. This coordination permits locations to develop whereas sustaining environmental accountability.
Extra broadly, the objective is to construct a tourism mannequin that generates long-term worth for each individuals and nature. Sustainable tourism should steadiness customer progress with respect for ecosystems, cultural heritage and native livelihoods. By doing so, Brazil goals to place itself not solely as a fantastic vacation spot, however as a worldwide benchmark for accountable and regenerative tourism.