For Brazil’s Economy and Tourism Industry, “The worst has passed.”

Brazilian Real is up More than 20 percent against the Dollar in 15 months and Brazilians are spending more—much more—while traveling abroad. With the U.S. dollar still the global standard on currency exchanges, it is good news for U.S. travel suppliers, destinations and receptive tour operators to know that, since the trough of the Brazilian economic recession—the worst ever for the country—the country’s currency, the real, has increased more than 20 percent. The growing strength of the real over the past 15 months (see table below) overlaps or coincides with a surge in the amount of spending by Brazilians traveling abroad.

According to data just released by the nation’s Central Bank, expenditures of Brazilians abroad totaled $1.530 billion in March this year; this is 18.5 percent higher than in the same period of last year, when Brazilians spent 1.291 billion. In the first quarter of 2017, expenses were $4.469 billion, or 50.4 percent  higher, than the expenses recorded during Q1 2016 $2.972 billion).

While it is down 20 percent from a high of 40 cents to the U.S. dollar just as the recession was beginning, it is up 22 percent since the trough of the recession at the beginning of February 2016.

Commenting on the economic news, Eduardo Borba, president of president of SONDA, a major Latin American technology solutions and services company, said “The macroeconomic situation, which began to worsen in 2014 and reached its peak in 2016 with inflation, unemployment, rising interest rates and fiscal crisis, shows the first signs of improvement and, it seems, the economy is strengthened again. The worst has passed … Brazil’s economic recovery is already underway.”