BRASILIA – Revenues from Brazil’s tourism sector grew 20 percent in the first two months of the year – the Southern Hemisphere’s summer – thanks to domestic travelers, the government said on Monday.

The estimate from the Tourism Ministry includes a number of sectors like hotels, air flights, car rentals and travel agencies, which makes it difficult to give an exact sum of money spent by tourists.

Hotel occupation increased 23 percent nationwide compared with the same period last year and hotels were practically full in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the recent Carnival.

Rio, Brazil’s chief tourist destination, welcomed a total of 2.55 million visitors in the first two months of 2009, 50,000 more than last year.

The Carnival festivals brought 719,000 people from out of town to Brazil’s second city, while the New Year’s Eve celebrations attracted 612,000 travelers who came to greet the new year on the beach.

The Tourism Ministry, which offered no exact figures, said that there was an increase in local tourism that made up for the drop in international tourists.

Tourism Minister Luiz Barreta was pleased with the figures and said that “not all sectors have been affected by the crisis.”

Tourism brings in 2.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, with annual revenues equivalent to almost $16 billion, according to ministry figures.

Some 85 percent of revenues were spent by Brazilians traveling through other regions of this vast country. International tourism made up the remaining 15 percent, with close to 5 million visitors per year.

Argentines, Americans, Portuguese, Italians and Chileans are the leaders, in that order, on the list of travelers who visit Brazil the most. EFE