Global tourism revenues reached a record USD 2.2 trillion in 2025. Brazil was one of the main beneficiaries, with international arrivals surging 37% higher than the previous year.
Brazil’s tourism boom is not an accident. Over the past decade, the country has been building the foundations for a more purposeful model, one that combines economic dynamism with environmental responsibility.
Federal and state policies have progressively incorporated sustainability standards, biodiversity commitments, and climate targets into tourism governance. Across Brazil, destinations are increasingly asking not only how many visitors they attract, but what lasting legacy tourism leaves.
But success comes in many forms, and Brazil is now striving to use tourism to restore ecosystems, strengthen communities and generate positive impact in the territories where it operates. What can other countries learn from its approach?
Regenerating Rio
High above Guanabara Bay, the Sugarloaf and Urca hills form one of Brazil’s most recognisable skylines. Yet in the 1970s and 1980s, parts of this landscape were under threat. Large areas were overtaken by capim-colonão, an invasive grass that fuelled repeated fires and blocked the natural regeneration of the Atlantic Forest.
Local public agencies, civil society and the cable car operator joined forces to tackle the problem by removing the invasive species and planting native trees to allow the forest to recover.
In 2006, the area was formally recognised as the Natural Monument of Sugarloaf and Urca Hills (MoNa Pão de Açúcar), acknowledging decades of work to protect and restore this ecologically important site in the middle of a metropolis.
Today, the site receives millions of visitors each year. Yet it also serves as a living laboratory for a different model of tourism, one that aims to improve the place in which it operates.
Promoting partnership
This long-term approach has evolved into a more structured collaboration. A 10-year biodiversity restoration programme, developed in partnership with the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and Climate, sets out clear goals: restoring degraded areas, controlling invasive species, planting native Atlantic Forest trees and monitoring local fauna and flora.
Tourism operators are also involved in adopting and maintaining green areas, trails, and public spaces. Environmental education has become part of the visitor experience, strengthening the area’s appeal and building awareness of Brazil’s biodiversity.
Building governance beyond Rio
Comparable governance structures are emerging in other parts of Brazil, most notably in southern Bahia, where a network of civil society organisations, local communities, tourism entrepreneurs, research institutions and public authorities has come together around shared goals for conservation and inclusive development.
One of the most significant examples is the alliance led by Futuri Brasil, which promotes regenerative tourism in the Abrolhos Terra e Mar territory. The network brings together municipalities, protected areas, businesses and community organisations to develop sustainable tourism products, strengthen local value chains, and improve environmental management practices.
Complementary efforts, such as the Turismo + Sustentável programme – implemented with the participation of CI-Brasil and Raízes Desenvolvimento Sustentável– have focused on training small and medium-sized tourism enterprises, offering mentorship, management tools and ESG guidelines so that local operators can align their activities with environmental and social performance standards.
These networks also interact with broader community-based tourism initiatives, involving Indigenous, quilombola and fishing communities in experiences that value and promote traditional knowledge, local culture and nature-based activities.
Fostering co-operation across sectors can help ensure that tourism contributes simultaneously to ecosystem protection, social inclusion and long-term economic resilience.
This shift from isolated initiatives to structured, long-term governance marks an important step. Regenerative tourism is not simply about good intentions – it requires mechanisms to turn ambition into action.
Measuring what matters
It also means measuring indicators beyond revenues, such as biodiversity recovery, local employment, small business participation and community engagement. At Bondinho Pão de Açúcar, environmental, social and economic indicators are concrete and trackable.
On the environmental side, key measures include the area of forest restored, the control of invasive species and the diversity of fauna and flora, which are monitored in partnership with public authorities. The operation achieved Carbon Neutral certification in 2021 and formally adopted one hectare of green areas for active conservation and restoration in 2022.
On the social and economic side, investment in the conservation of green areas reached BRL 1.98 million between 2014 and 2024. The Educa Bondinho environmental education programme, one of the largest of its kind among tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro, has provided training for more than 80,000 people over its first decade.
Beyond visitor numbers, the metrics that now matter include the quality of environmental learning, reflected in what visitors and local workers understand, experience, and take away about conservation, the degree of community involvement in management decisions, and the resilience of the local natural heritage on which the attraction’s long-term value ultimately depends.
Building a future where tourism restores
Tourism has always been a driver for economic prosperity and job creation, but it can also be a driver for ecological restoration, community empowerment, and climate resilience.
The Rio de Janeiro experience has shown that regenerative tourism is not confined to remote eco-lodges or protected wilderness areas. It can also take place in the heart of major cities, where tourism, nature and daily life intersect. The challenge now is to scale these positive practices, and place care for nature and people at the centre of tourism’s future.
To read more OECD work on this topic, check-out OECD Tourism Trends
and Policies 2024.
Paulo Gontijo has been serving as Director of Institutional Relations at Grupo Iter since December 2023. With extensive experience in international project management, communication, and public policy development, he currently plays a crucial role in representing Grupo Iter across various fronts, participating in events, seminars, and forums, as well as building valuable connections with other.