Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), the leader in global payments, today released the Visa
Everywhere Travel Report for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil,
which analyzes travel data and cross border spend on all Visa products,
including credit, debit and prepaid payment cards.
During the four-day opening period of the tournament (June 12 - June 15,
2014), Visa found that international visitors spent more than US$27M on
their Visa accounts. This represents a 73 percent increase over the same
four-day period in 2013, and 47 percent more when compared to the
opening four-day period of the Confederations Cup (June 15 –June, 18
2013), where travelers spent nearly US$18.5M.
Visitors from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, France,
and Mexico represented the largest overall tourist spend in Brazil
during the four-day period. On Saturday, June 14, 2014 alone
international travelers to Brazil spent more than US$10.7M using Visa
products. This was the highest tourist spend day in the country in 2014.
“These numbers reflect the significant impact that mega sporting events
like the World Cup can have in boosting local commerce in host market
economies,” said Ruben Osta, Visa Inc. country manager, Brazil. “This
positive trend aligns with Brazil’s expectation that more than 600,000
international travelers may visit the country during this event --
ultimately boosting the country’s economy.”
Travelers from ten countries made up 65 percent of the total spend in
Brazil, with four countries -- Australia (+675%), Colombia (+418%),
Mexico (+204%) and United Kingdom (+101%) --showing triple-digit
increases compared to spend during the same four-day period in 2013.
Top 10 Country Contributors to Spend in Brazil on Visa
Accounts: (June 12-June 15)
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Ranking
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Country/Territory
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Total Spend (USD)
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Year over Year Growth
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1
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United States
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$6.6M
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55.5%
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2
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United Kingdom
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$2.3M
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101.3%
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3
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France
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$1.7M
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36.8%
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4
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Mexico
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$1.3M
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204.2%
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5
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Angola
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$1.2M
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78.6%
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6
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Argentina
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$1.2M
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|
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32%
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7
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Germany
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$1M
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95.6%
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8
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Australia
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$969K
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675.2%
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9
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Colombia
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$858K
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418%
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10
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Spain
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$689K
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7.7%
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Visitors spent the most in categories such as lodging and accommodation,
which accounted for US$5M, and in local restaurants at US$2.5M.
“As a proud sponsor of FIFA and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Visa has
partnered with clients, merchants and financial institutions in Brazil
to provide a safe, convenient and reliable payment infrastructure for
international visitors to enjoy their time in Brazil and cheer on their
team and country,” said Osta. “As a partner for tourism and economic
growth, Visa is making it easier for everyone, everywhere, to be a part
of the FIFA World Cup - whether it’s at any of the 12 FIFA World Cup
venues or by using one of the 1.4 million contactless payment terminals
available throughout the country.”
Visa has worked with partner organizations and service providers in
Brazil to implement and manage the entire payment system infrastructure
throughout all FIFA World Cup venues, including deployment of more than
3,000 Visa contactless-enabled point-of-sale terminals and 75 ATMs.
For more information on Visa travel products and tips for international
travel payment, visit www.visa.com/fifamediakit.com.
About Visa Inc.:
Visa is a global digital payments network that connects consumers,
businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200
countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic
payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing
networks - VisaNet - that is capable of handling more than 47,000
transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and
assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue
cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s
innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to
offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with
prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com.
About VisaVue® Travel Data
Visa cardholder spend data cited is based upon VisaVue Travel data. Visa
introduced the VisaVue Travel tourism reporting product to U.S. tourism
organizations in 2008 and has continued to provide reports to the
industry on a variety of popular tourist destinations every year. For
more information on VisaVue Travel and Visa's products focused on the
tourism industry, please contact the VisaVue Product Office at VisaVueTravel@Visa.com.
Data included in the “Everywhere Travel Report” includes spending on
Visa-branded payment cards by international visitors from key source
countries during the calendar year 2014 (June 12 – 15, 2014).
Copyright Business Wire 2014