Whilst Brazil, celebration and football are not three words that have been seen together a lot recently, Brazil can at least rejoice in the fact that the 2014 world cup did provide some economic victories for the country.
The latest figures released by Visa have found that fans spent £221m whilst watching the tournament – a £70m increase on the spending in South Africa in 2010. Split up, this meant £32m for the hotels, £28m for the retail industry and £23m for the restaurant industry. This figure was a 143 per cent increase on the tourist spend in Brazil for the same period in 2013, meaning that the Brazilian economy got a boost even if their countries morale didn‘t.
American and British fans found themselves at the top of the league table for spending with the former splurging an impressive £56m and the latter a respectable £18m. France secured a third place medal with a spend of £14m. Meanwhile the Germans, who were believed to be too busy watching football to shop, only spent a measly £8m. Despite their poor show however Europe did still manage a spend of £62M overall.
Kevin Jenkins, managing director of Visa, commented: “These supporters have given a clear boost to the country‘s economy in match destinations. UK fans have clearly enjoyed their time in the country, ranking only second to American fans despite the England team‘s early exit.”
