São Paulo, 1 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Minister of Sports and Tourism, Caio Carvalho, said Friday that the government is working to make ecotourism a viable alternative in Brazil through competent handling of the sector with resulting international recognition of the effort. Carvalho made the comment during a meeting of the Brazilian Council on Sustainable Tourism, which discussed partnership projects for ecotourism in 96 locations.

Carvalho emphasized the importance of extending development of ecotourism centers to the local population in surrounding areas. "We need to do two things: attract tourists from all over the world and work to raise living standards of local populations," he said, adding that ecotourism creates jobs and income in poor regions. (AB)