Golden-age Hollywood had a thing about Brazil. A string of musical comedies from the 1930s to the 1950s – Flying Down to Rio, Road to Rio, That Night in Rio and more – exploited Brazilian themes to arouse the imagination of cinema-goers.

But the films had more to do with extravagant tropical fantasy than the real country. US tourists have continued to regard it as a risky place to travel. And Brazil has tended to regard itself as self-sufficient in tourism, with a hotel sector largely geared to domestic demand. Only recently has it begun to give international tourism the attention it deserves.