Brazil Travel & Tourism News
BRASILIA — A recent poll shows that 71% of Americans who have never visited Brazil do not know the name the country’s capital. The Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur) conducted the research which also shows that among Americans who have visited Brazil, 52% know that the capital is Brasília.
Most Americans don’t know Brazil’s Capital
The question asked in the survey was: “What is the capital of Brazil?” Pollsters recorded the answer as correct or incorrect.
The telephone survey contacted 1,045 adults in various regions of the United States between 16 and 23 July this year. Among respondents, 92% had never visited Brazil. The purpose of the survey, according to Embratur, is to make Brazil better known in the U.S. market.
According to the survey, 88% of Americans who had visited the country know that the official language is Portuguese. Among those who had not visited, 66% recognize Portuguese as the language spoken in Brazil.
The survey also shows that for every one hundred Americans interviewed, 18 knew that the writer Paulo Coelho and the song “Girl from Ipanema” by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes were from Brazil.
However, the study also showed that 10% of Americans thought the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo Brazilian. And 9% thought the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa as well as the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez Brazilian.
One in five residents of the United States recognize icons of Brazilian cuisine: caipirinha (21% recognition) and feijoada (20%). They also recognized geographic attractions, such as Iguazu Falls (27%) and the Amazon rainforest (39%) as being in Brazil.
Another insight revealed by the survey is that those who have visited the country perceive it more positively than those who haven’t visited. Over 80% of Americans who have visited Brazil consider it one of the most interesting countries in South America. The index falls to 62% among those who have not visited.
