Rio de Janeiro, Jan 14: American tourists arriving in Brazil must still be photographed and fingerprinted, but those who enter through Rio de Janeiro are getting flowers, jewelry and T-shirts along with the red tape.
"This is our way of saying that Rio de Janeiro loves American tourists, no matter what," said Fuad Atala, spokesman for the Rio de Janeiro tourism board.
"It works," said Eric Tillman, a jazz pianist from New York, who arrived in Rio for vacation Tuesday. "It's very nice."
On Monday, Justice Minister Thomaz Bastos issued an executive order extending the country's policy of photographing and fingerprinting arriving Americans for another 30 days.
The practice began on New Year's Day, with Brazilian officials saying it was "reciprocity" for a similar US program aimed at preventing terrorism.
The federal order did not sit well with Rio, a city that thrives on tourism. Brazil received 660,000 American tourists in 2003 and 60 percent of them arrived in Rio, said Robert Dutra, vice president of the Brazilian Incoming Tour Operators Association.
Bureau Report
