Research #15 - 1/27/12

The last few days I have run all across Greenville with the Brazilian family I am hosting. The thing they love the most here is the LOW PRICES!! So far the father has bought two iphone 4s, a macbook air, a bose headset, polo shirts, xbox controllers, lots of makeup, nike shoes, cologne, and much more. In total, they have saved $12,763 from buying things in the United States rather than in Brazil. I will continue to watch what they buy. The Brazilians are really helping the U.S. economy from what I have observed!

Research #14 - 1/22/12

Today I spent more time working on paper and got to page seven. I also found one more link I needed to show how many Brazilians go to Orlando.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-06-20/business/os-cfb-cover-brazilian-market-20100620_1_brazilians-visa-requirements-gary-sain

Research #13 - 1/21/12

Today I worked on my paper, I have finished roughly four pages. I also found another source to use because I was missing the number of Brazilians going to Europe rather than the United States.

Link - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/us/miami-courts-free-spending-brazilians.html

Research #12 - 1/20/12

Today I found a Brazilian article from the Estadao News that said in 2016 there could be as much as 2.8 million Brazilians visiting the United States. It was an interesting article. The rest of the day I spent reading a Brazilian travel guide to the United States to see what they want to do here.

Link 1 - http://economia.estadao.com.br/noticias/economia%20brasil,brasil-sera-o-4-pais-em-numero-de-visitantes-aos-eua,100109,0.htm

Research #11 - 1/19/12

Today I met with Dr. Revels and she suggested I add some book sources to my research. I will start reading my books today. I also watched a 60 Minutes documentary on Brazil and its growing influence on the world and how Americans should invest in Brazil. It was a great documentary with a lot of good information.
President Obama also made a speech in Florida today talking about loosening travel restrictions in Brazil and China. He wants to make the visa process faster. He wants the United States to be the number on tourist destination in the world and for tourists to go to Orlando and spend money. I am glad to see the U.S. government is realizing the importance of tourists, especially tourists coming from Brazil!

Obama article - http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/19/obama-florida-relaxes-travel-restrictions-tourism/

Research #10 - 1/18/12

Today I read the article Dr. Revels sent to me on my last post. It seems an alternative to waiving the visa requirement for Brazilians and risking national security, could be visa reform. The United States consulate in Brazil is overrun by Brazilians wanting a visa. We could try building more consulates in Brazil or hiring more staff to interview more Brazilians faster. We could also offer online interviews for Brazilians who can not find the time to travel hundreds of miles to a consulate. Hiring more staff could increase the number of interviews per year by one million. Like I said before, we need to find a balance between economic opportunity and safety. Visa reform may be the best way to achieve both. I will keep researching more alternative and ways to increase the number of Brazilian tourists traveling to the United States. Thank you for the article Dr. Revels!

Link 1 - http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-daily-disney/os-obama-disney-visit-20120117,0,1018781.story

Research #9 - 1/17/12

I feel that I am nearing a completion of my research. Yesterday I talked about how we need to be progressive like Europe in order to attract more Brazilian customers. I decided to research what Brazilians like to buy, so that companies can target Brazilians based on what they like. 

I will start off this list with, beauty supplies. We all know Brazilians have a reputation for being attractive and it seems that they feel like they need to maintain this reputation. The beauty market in Brazil has more than quintupled since 1996 and reached $27 billion in 2010. Brazil has the 3rd largest beauty market in the world. Although statistics are hard to gather on makeup usage, it's accepted that around 79% of Brazilian females use beauty products regularly. 

Brazilians are also buying cars. In 2010 Brazilians purchased 3.5 million cars which is 12% more than the previous year. The most popular car brands in Brazil are Fiat, Volkswagen AG, General Motors, and Ford. 

Another popular product Brazilians are buying is cell phones. In 2010, 55% of Brazilians bought cellphones, making them the #1 consumer of cell phones in the world. In 2011, smart phone sales increased 165% from the previous year. There is a large and growing market in Brazil for mobile technology. Computer have also seen an increase in sales in Brazil, 55% of Brazilians have a computer. One good fact to know when marketing Brazilians is that 66% of tablet users in Brazil say that the internet is the greatest influence for purchasing products. 

Brazil has a growing upper class as well and luxury products have seen a 23% increase since 2009. H Stern, Daslu, Fasano, Osklen, and Victor Hugo are responsible for most luxury sales in Brazil. 

REAL ESTATE! Over 9% of real estate bought internationally by Brazilians were located in the city of Miami alone. Over 20% of all real estate sold in Miami in 2011 came from Brazilians. Brazilians are investing in American real estate, however they do not plan on moving to the United States for the most part. 

I will continue to research on how to market Brazilians.