Brazil welcomed 5.1 ,million foreign tourists in 2010

Brazil welcomed more than 5.16 million foreign tourists last year, of which 27% on business, the Ministry for Tourism informed Friday.

This statistic also adds that the number of tourists visiting the country is 7.8% more than that recorded in 2009, which was 4.8 million people.

According to the report, most of the visitors were from Argentina (1.4 million) and the main point of entry to Brazil was the city of São Paulo, the industrial and financial heart of the country, which in 2010 welcomed some 2 million foreign visitors.

Rio de Janeiro, home to many idyllic tourist attractions, received 983 thousand foreign visitors.