Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism is supporting investment in infrastructure in key locations in the country that will be venues for the 2014 World Cup thereby leveraging funds from federal sources for the development of state-level tourism.
As an example, Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso state is investing in transportation infrastructure to enable better access to tourism destinations, and last month in the national capital, Brasilia, the tourism minister, Peter Novak, met with the governor of Mato Grosso, Silval Barbosa to guarantee support from his ministry to support the state government’s actions.
Plans to upgrade nearby Marechal Rondon International Airport by October 2012, in good time for the tournament, have also been announced by Brazil’s airport authority Infraero. The US$16.3 million investment will mainly focus on a revamp of the passenger terminal, parking and airport access.
“Cuiabá is a beautiful city and one of 65 destinations on Brazil’s tourist trail,” says Novak. The city is one of 12 that will be hosting matches and it also has the geographical distinction of being in the exact centre of South America; 2,000 kilometres equidistant from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Established in 1719 during the Brazilian Gold Rush, Cuiabá still houses a number of historic buildings that were declared national heritage sites in 1992. The city, often called the Green City, sits at the meeting point of three ecosystems: the savannahs of the Cerrado; the wetlands of the Pantanal; and the Amazon. The striking mountain range of Chapada dos Guimarães, where archaeological sites and a 3,300 square mile National Park attract thousands of visitors every year, is nearby.
