Brasília, May 15, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Tourism, Walfrido Mares Guia, called for the recovery of Brazilian highways to lift tourism in the country. According to him, 42% of foreign tourists arrive in Brazil via the highways. He spoke yesterday (14) at a dinner sponsored by the Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies (ABAV), which is commemorating its 50th anniversary.

The president of ABAV, Tasso Gadzanis, underlined the audacity of the goals of the National Tourism Plan, launched by the federal government on April 29. In four years, the government plans to attract 9 million tourists annually - three times more than the current number -, generating 1.2 million jobs.

"Nine million tourists is not an unreasonable goal. Achieving these objectives will depend upon our unity, what joins us is our enthusiasm, and what guides us is this plan, which must be ours, not the government's," Mares Guia replied. (DAS)