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. 

Research #8 - 1/16/12

As I'm concluding most of my research for this project before I begin writing my paper. I wanted to look at what economic gains the United States will and could make from Brazilian tourism.

In the month of June in 2011 Brazilians spent $1.4 billion abroad which is 39.9% higher than it was the same month last year. In the first six months of 2011 Brazilians spent $6.8 billion abroad compared to $4.2 billion one year ago. Most economists believe their stronger currency (the Real) has made it profitable to buy products abroad. A dollar is equivalent to 1.50 to 1.55 Reais. Brazil's currency has appreciated 40% since 2008.
Europe has embraced Brazilian tourism for its economic potential. Europe does not require visas for Brazilians to visit and France is Brazil's number one tourist destination. Brazilians account for more tax-free transactions than Americans do in Paris. The number of Brazilians traveling to Paris has more than tripled in the last 5 years! Paris department stores like Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps have hired a staff that can speak Portuguese and dedicated a VIP service to Brazilian customers. Europe in general has seen a 70% increase in Brazilian transactions since last year.
In Florida, Brazilians are spending more than four times that of American consumers. Americans are missing out on one of the greatest economic opportunities in the world today. Europe is taking advantage of this opportunity by hiring a staff that can speak Portuguese and appealing to Brazilian consumers. Due to the United States proximity to Brazil and our low cost products, we have more potential to attract Brazilians than Europe does. We really need to take the progressive steps that Europe is and I am sure our gains would be impressive if we did!




Link 1 - http://en.mercopress.com/2011/07/26/brazilians-with-a-strong-currency-travelling-overseas-as-never-before

Link 2 - http://www.global-blue.com/corporate/intelligence/the-brazilian-shopping-spree/

Research #7 - 1/15/12

I was running out of ideas of topics to research, I have reached on many topics. I got an idea from a friend to research the differences between Northern and Southern Brazil. I thought it was a great idea!

 There are two southern regions in Brazil. Southern Brazil which includes the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná. Southeastern Brazil includes the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Espirito Santo. These two regions combined have a total population of 98.1 million and a GDP of $1.375 trillion.

The two northern regions of Brazil (North and Northeast). There are many states so I will not list them here. The two northern regions have a combined population of 62.4 million and a GDP of $344.3 billion.

As you can see already, the southern regions of Brazil have a larger population and a much larger GDP than the northern regions of  Brazil. For this reason most Brazilian who travel abroad are from Southern Brazil. There is one city in Southern Brazil that I would like to talk about and that is, Sao Paulo.

Here are some statistics on the city of Sao Paulo. The metropolitan population of Sao Paulo is 11.3 million! This is a very large city, that according to most statistics is larger or equivalent to the size of New York City! Sao Paulo is the 38th richest city in the world per capita and the 26th most expensive city in the world. In the year 2025 it is predicted that Sao Paulo will have to 15th largest GDP of all cities in the world. Sao Paulo has "new money" and has an expensive lifestyle that does not match up to it's income. Maybe this is why Paulistas are taking their "new money" to buy things in the United States because it's cheaper than buying products in Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is important to tourism in the United States because 7,000 Paulistas get visas everyday to visit the United States. I'll continue to research regions in Brazil and how the affect tourism in the United States!



Link 1 - http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-worlds-30-most-expensive-cities/20111219.htm

Link 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/24/rise_of_the_middle_class_city?page=full

Research #6 - 1/14/12

Today i decided to look at the reasons why Brazilians are traveling to Europe more than the United States. The United States is much closer to Brazil than Europe, so why do they travel to Europe more? I decided to research visas first. The European Union does not require Brazilians to have a visa in order to visit Europe. A visa for a Brazilian to visit the United States would cost $160 per person. There is usually a 50 day waiting period before you can have an interview to obtain the visa. You also will wait in line for at least 6 hours. A flight to Europe is on average $100 cheaper. Why is a flight to Europe cheaper than a flight to the United States? It looks like financially, Europe is the best option for travel. With the Euro weakening to $1.30, travel to Europe by Brazilians may increase. However, I believe the United States will remain their destination to buy foreign products, but Europe will remain their destination for vacation only. The United States should waive the visa requirement for Brazilians so that we may boost our economy!

Research # 5 - 1/12/12

Today I took a break from my research and decided to type an email to the U.S. Consulate in Brazil. I asked them what tactics they are using to get Brazilians to travel to the United States. The Brazilian family I will be hosting said they waited six hours to get an interview for their visa. There are over 7,000 Brazilians interviewed everyday in the city of Sao Paulo alone. I hope to hear back from them! I also decided to watch an interview of Eike Batista, the richest man in Brazil and the richest man in Latin America. It was a very interesting interview! His interview really shows Brazil's rise as an economic power and how much Brazil's plentiful commodities have helped them.

Interview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdOijmCWhds

Research #4 - 1/11/12

Today I wanted to research tariffs and the reason for expensive products in Brazil. At first I had trouble finding articles about it and I had to get help from my friend Guilherme to find some good articles about it. After reading a few articles, Brazil turns out to have some very high tariffs on foreign imports. The purpose of these imports are to protect Brazilian industries which are at a disadvantage against foreign industries. Brazil is still catching up when it comes to the quality of their products. While Brazil catches up to foreign competitors, these tariffs are meant to protect them. The more difficult the product is to make, the higher the tariff. For example, most cars and computers are difficult to make and the process of manufacturing them is expensive; for this reason most car imports and technology imports are taxed 30%. That is alot! Inexpensive items such as t-shirts that are imported usually have a tax of around 5%. These high taxes make it profitable to travel to the United States. They would save more money than was spent on the flight and hotel. So many Brazilians are buying products in the United States, that Brazilian President Dilma, issued a 6% tax on products bought by credit card in a foreign country. Even with this new 6% tax, Brazilians spent $1.8 billion in Miami alone last year. Politicians in Brazil are confused on what to do about this situation. If they get rid of their tariffs, Brazilian industries would suffer, but if the tariff is too high, Brazilians will travel to other countries to buy products. I will continue to research this issue because it plays a very important roll in this increase of Brazilian tourists in the United States.

Link 1 - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-01/brazil-hits-china-with-tariffs-as-potholes-erode-new-silk-road.html

Research #3 - 1/10/12

Today I focused on the comments Dr. Revels made on my last post because I thought they were good points. After talking to another Brazilian friend of mine who wants to become a translator and who studies at Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo, she offered some interesting thoughts. She said as far as amusement parks go, Brazil has virtually none. Most Brazilians have never experienced a roller coaster or enjoyed a theme park. Orlando is the Mecca of all amusement parks and rides in the eyes of a Brazilian. Brazilians almost have an obsession with wanting to visit Disney World or see Shamu in SeaWorld. As far as malls go, Brazilians have many. Malls are being built everyday, as of now the most expensive mall in Latin America is under construction in Sao Paulo. By the end of 2012, there will be 40% more malls in Brazil than there were seven years ago. The growing middle class has created a new purchasing power in Brazil. It is estimated that as many as 30 to 40 million people have moved up to the middle class since 2003.  By the year 2030, it is expected that another 45 million Brazilians will also make that move. The middle class of Brazil would become as large as the entire population of Spain. One article says Brazilians spend three to four times as long in malls as North Americans. Items in Brazil are very expensive due to import taxes on foreign products. The United States does not have large tariffs on foreign goods making many items cheap to buy. Cheap American goods and a new shopping mentality may be the reason so many Brazilians go to the United States to shop.

Link 1 - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/latin-american/the-rise-of-the-mall-in-brazil/article2150882/

Research #2 - 1/9/12

Today I decided to research the economies of both Brazil and the United States to see if the economy is impacting tourism. I found that unemployment in Brazil is at 5.2% as of December, much better than our 8.5% as of the same month. After talking to a Brazilian working at Deutsche Bank in Sao Paulo, he said that finding a job is not a problem, but finding specialized workers is a problem due to Brazil's educational system. It seems there is more incentives for Americans to find a job in Brazil, than for Brazilians to find a job in the United States. That makes me believe Brazilians are only traveling to the United States for vacation and not to become a future resident. Brazil's economy has grown at a fast pace and has become a member of the BRIC nations. These nations include Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The BRIC organization is a trade alliance between developing nations that hope to replace the developed nations as the top economic powers of the world. Brazil's GDP per capita has almost doubled in the last decade, which could explain why they are traveling more than ever. They have more money to pay for flights and explore other countries. Brazil's GDP has grown rapidly and surpassed the GDP of the United Kingdom as of 2011. I will continue to do more research on Brazil's economy and I want to look at their tariffs on foreign imports.


Link 1 - http://www.tradingeconomics.com/brazil/unemployment-rate

Link 2 - http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate

Link 3 - http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=br&v=67

Research #1 - 1/7/12

It has been difficult to find data on which states and cities are visited the most by Brazilians. I did find one article that said New York and Florida have experienced huge increases in the number of Brazilian tourists since 2009. I wish I could find a list that gave the number of Brazilian tourists by state or by city.
I talked to one of my Brazilian friends who lives in Sao Paulo about why Brazilians want to come to the United States. His response was "shopping of course." I will post the conversation below. It seems that New York City and Miami are often advertised in Brazil and that is why most Brazilians visit these two cities the most. One article I found shows that 52% of all Brazilians who travel abroad visit Western Europe because it is easier to travel to. The United States requires a long waiting time and an expensive visa process for Brazilians to visit our country. If the visa was ridden of many more Brazilians would visit the United States. I will keep doing my research about which cities are visited the most and why. Links from two articles below.


 Baker
Do you know why Brazilians are visiting New York and Florida more than any other state?


Guilherme
cause those are the most famous states for shopping etc


Baker
what about California or Chicago are they not famous?


Guilherme
most people don´t know anything about chicago and california, it is not that good for shopping.
NY and FL are way better.


Baker
Los Angeles has lots of shops though

Guilherme
but the most famous states are still NY and Florida. We always hear about them on TV. Miami is always on the news for its cheap shopping malls.



Link 1 - http://www.franchiseknowhow.com/blog/2011/12/brazilian-tourists-hit-record-shopping-in-the-us.php

Link 2 - http://kiddynamitesworld.com/give-us-your-tired-your-poor-your-brazilians

First Interim Meeting - 1/5/12

Yesterday was our first independent studies interim meeting. We discussed our projects and shared ideas. I learned that the Milliken Faculty Trip was going to be in Brazil this year. I could talk to some faculty members about their trip to Brazil as possible sources. I also heard from another student that in his home town, Woodlands, Texas, there is a two week period in the summer when locals don't shop because all the malls are packed with Brazilians. I might want to research where Brazilians are going in the United States to shop. I also thought I might want to research what is changing in the United States that might make Brazilians want to come here. At the end of our meeting we set up our next meeting times for the month. I am ready to get started on my research!