Former American president Barack Obama wants to return to Brazil, but this time as a tourist and Bahia is on his list.
“I love Latin American, I was already in Rio and São Paulo but there are parts of Bahia that I want to get to know,” he said.
Obama made the declaration in an interview with the executive director of Hilton Hotels, Christopher Nassetta, during the annual meeting of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) at the beginning of the month in Seville.
Obama mentioned Brazil to show why facilitating the entrance of tourists into countries stimulates the tourism sector.
"We saw a large increase in the number of Brazilians with high incomes who wanted to visit Disney and other places in the United States. But they could only get the visa in Sao Paulo and Rio, and the country is huge so that limited our performance,” he said.
Today, Brazilians can get an American visa in Porto Alegre, Recife, and Brasília.
Going back to his travel list, the ex-president said that he would like to visit Chile and Argentina, especially the Patagonia region.
"And Antarctica. The US Secret Service was not too excited about the logistics [that travel would require] because if time turns we can run out of communication for weeks. But now that I'm no longer president, I might go on this trip, "he said.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon