An Argentine tourist lands in Maceió, opens Google Maps on their phone, and searches for "restaurant near me." They won't type in the name of your business, because they don't know it. They'll choose from whatever shows up, with a photo, hours, reviews, and an easy way to reach someone. If your business isn't ready for that search, the sale goes to your neighbor — and the neighbor doesn't even need to be better, just visible.
The flow of foreign visitors has grown, and not by a little
According to Embratur, based on Federal Police data, Brazil welcomed 5,261,733 international tourists between January and June 2026. Arrivals by air, 3.5 million, were the highest volume on record for a first half, up 13.3% from 2025. Spending by these visitors reached US$4.8 billion through May, a record for the period.
Growth is showing up more strongly outside the usual hotspots. In Alagoas, also according to Embratur, there were 18,458 foreign tourists from January to April 2026, compared to 8,846 in the same period of 2025 — an increase of 108%. The state's tourism department attributes the jump to destination promotion and new air routes, with direct flights from Rosario, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Lisbon.
A methodology note: the newsletter where we first saw this mentioned 138% growth in the first quarter. That figure doesn't appear in the official sources. The data we verified shows 108% for the four-month period, from Embratur, and 145% for the first two months, measured at Maceió's airport. These are different baselines, but the picture is the same: the state practically doubled its number of foreign visitors in one year.
The detail that changes everything: the language is Spanish
When people think of foreign tourists, the common reaction is to translate the menu into English. The numbers say otherwise. The five countries that sent the most tourists to Brazil in the first half of the year were:
- Argentina: 1,979,365
- Chile: 471,590
- United States: 395,929
- Uruguay: 322,951
- Paraguay: 303,880
Four of the five speak Spanish. Those four alone add up to more than 3 million people, 58% of all tourists in the half-year — and that count still leaves out Colombia, Peru, Spain, and the other Spanish-speaking countries. The United States, the only English-speaking country in the top five, sent fewer than 400,000.
In practice: for most businesses in Brazilian tourist destinations, the second-best-selling language is Spanish. English comes after that.
Checklist: what to have ready before next season
None of this requires a large investment. Most of it is setup the owner can do in a single afternoon.
1. A complete Google Business Profile with photos
This is the storefront tourists see first. The right category, an address with the pin in the exact spot, up-to-date business hours (including holidays), a phone number, and real photos of the storefront, the interior, and the products. The category and hours are automatically translated for anyone using a phone in another language — which is why getting the category right matters so much. The full step-by-step is in our guide on how to rank at the top of Google Maps.
2. Recent reviews, with replies to all of them
Tourists don't know anyone in town to ask for recommendations; reviews play that role. Google shows a translation of reviews to anyone reading in another language, so a review in Portuguese still helps the Argentine visitor. Ask for the review right when a customer leaves satisfied, and reply to all of them, the good and the bad. If a review comes in Spanish, replying in Spanish, even simply, shows that visitor they'll be taken care of there.
3. A website that also exists in Spanish
A Google profile handles the first impression; the website handles the decision — menu, prices, directions, booking. The difference lies in having a Spanish version with its own URL (for example, yoursite.com.br/es), not just an automatic translation button. A page with its own URL gets indexed by Google and shows up for people searching in Spanish; a built-in translator doesn't show up in any search.
This comes from our own experience: our agency's website exists in four languages, and today the second-highest-traffic page on the entire site is a Spanish-language article — more than almost every page in Portuguese. Search in another language has less competition, and whoever gets there first claims the space. If your website doesn't have a version in another language, that's exactly the kind of work we do in website creation.
4. WhatsApp ready for messages in Spanish
Argentines and Uruguayans use WhatsApp just as much as Brazilians do. Set up two or three quick replies in Spanish on WhatsApp Business: hours, address, how to book, and payment methods. A short greeting in Portuguese and Spanish is enough to keep the conversation from dying after the first "hola." The settings are covered in our article on the 5 free WhatsApp Business settings that help you sell.
5. A menu and prices that don't need a translator waiter
A menu with photos, the dish name in Portuguese, and a line in Spanish underneath solves most of the confusion. A QR code on the table linking to the Spanish version of the menu on your website takes care of the rest, and it also boosts that page with Google.
6. Frictionless payment
Many foreign tourists don't have a Brazilian bank account and can't pay with Pix. Make sure your card machine accepts international cards and phone tap-to-pay, and post that clearly at the entrance and on your profile. Always display prices in reais, visibly: a tourist who can't understand the price gives up before even asking.
The most common mistake: machine translation with no review
Machine translation helps, but a menu translated word-for-word turns into a joke — and a joke on a menu doesn't sell. Use machine translation as a draft and have a Spanish speaker review at least the essentials: dish names, prices, hours, and the website text. It's just a few lines, and every tourist who comes through reads them.
The second mistake is translating everything and then forgetting to keep it updated. A new menu in Portuguese paired with an outdated Spanish version is worse than no version at all: the tourist orders a dish that no longer exists.
When this isn't worth the effort
Not every business needs this right now. If your store is far from any tourist flow and your customers are strictly local, start with the Google profile in Portuguese — that already takes care of local customers. A version in another language becomes worthwhile once tourists are actually coming through the door: coastal cities, historic centers, event areas, and the surroundings of hotels and airports.
It's also worth remembering that this flow is seasonal. The peak for Argentine and Uruguayan visitors is during the Brazilian summer, between December and March. Anyone who wants to make the most of the next season needs to be ready before it starts, because Google takes weeks to surface a new page.
Where to start this week
If you're only going to do one thing: open your Google Business Profile, check the category, hours, and photos, and reply to any reviews still waiting for a response. It's free, takes an hour, and affects both tourists and local customers at the same time. After that, work on the Spanish website and the quick replies on WhatsApp. Tourists are already arriving; the question is whether they'll find your business or your neighbor's.
Sources
- Embratur, Ministry of Tourism, and Federal Police: international tourist arrivals in the first half of 2026 (released July 2026).
- Embratur and Aena, via Panrotas: international tourist arrivals in Alagoas, January to April 2026 (May 2026).
- "Na Mira do Ricardo Amorim," 53rd edition (09/30/2026), where we first saw this topic.
Frequently asked questions
How many foreign tourists did Brazil welcome in 2026?
According to Embratur, using data from the Federal Police, Brazil received 5,261,733 international tourists between January and June 2026. Arrivals by air, 3.5 million, were the highest ever recorded for a first half of the year.
Which countries send the most tourists to Brazil?
In the first half of 2026, the top five were Argentina (1,979,365), Chile (471,590), the United States (395,929), Uruguay (322,951), and Paraguay (303,880). Four of the five are Spanish-speaking countries.
Is it more worthwhile to translate my business into Spanish or English?
For most Brazilian tourist destinations, Spanish. The four Spanish-speaking countries in the top five account for 58% of the half-year's tourists, compared with less than 8% from the United States.
Does Google translate my business profile on its own?
Part of it. The category and business hours show up in the searcher's own language, and Google offers a translation option for reviews. The description and your responses, though, are yours to write, so it's worth crafting them carefully and replying in Spanish when a review comes in Spanish.
Does an automatic translation button on my website solve the problem?
It helps visitors who are already on the site, but it won't make the site show up in Spanish-language searches. For that, you need a proper Spanish version with its own address, like yoursite.com.br/es, which Google can actually index.
How far ahead of the season should I get ready?
A few months. Your Google Business Profile updates quickly, but a new page on your website can take weeks to show up in search results. Since the peak season for Argentine and Uruguayan visitors runs from December to March, the ideal is to be ready by November.