Foreign tourists' expenses in Brazil up 6 pct in first half of 2018

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The income earned from foreign tourists in Brazil increased by 5.94 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2018, the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism said Thursday.

Some 3.15 million foreigners visited Brazil from January to June, up 8 percent year-on-year, and they spent 3.24 billion U.S. dollars during the trips, according to the ministry.

During the same period, Brazilian tourists abroad spent 9.57 billion dollars, up 8.72 percent year-on-year, the ministry stated.

Tourism is a major industry in Brazil, whose total contribution to GDP reached 163.0 billion dollars in 2017, or 7.9 percent of the total, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, a London-based forum for the industry.