Russian VersionIntroducing Ceará
The state of Ceará in northeast Brazil has a varied natural environment covering mangroves, tropical forest, thorny scrubland and sandy coastal plains almost devoid of vegetation but fringed with endless stretches of powdery beach. These paradisiacal beaches are divided into two groups either side of the capital, Fortaleza, the Sunset Coast (Costa do Sol poente) and the Sunrise Coast (Costa do Sol nascente).
Up until the 20th century, Ceará was amongst the poorest States in Brazil and survived on cattle raising, salt production and the cultivation of beans, corn, cotton and fruit which could resist the arid climatic conditions. In the 1980s petroleum was found off Ceará’s coastline and with political and financial support from the federal government, the state began to take off. Some industries such as textiles, shoes, food processing and of course the extraction of petroleum, flourished, but Ceará still lagged behind other Brazilian states in terms of economic success.
In the 1990s, Ceará, in particular Fortaleza, found their true vocation – tourism. Marketing campaigns within Brazilian media and word of mouth about the natural beauty of the state soon turned Fortaleza into the ‘must visit’ destination of Brazil. Of course the weather, permanently hovering between 26 and 28ºC thanks to a positioning four degrees south of the Equator, has also helped. Over the past few decades, further structure has been given to the tourism sector. Private and public investment into hotels, restaurants, policing and transportation coupled with more sophisticated marketing campaigns outside of Brazil, have all brought increased traffic.
Now the people of Ceará realize the importance of the tourist sector for the economy and although the state is significantly under visited by tourists in comparison with the rest of Brazil, making it less busy and far more affordable, Ceará will certainly not remain undiscovered for long. Ceará today is a state with excellent prospects. Economic growth in the state in 2006 was 4.8%, higher than the average growth in Brazil, which was 2.7% (or 3.7% according to the new method for calculating GDP).
Population:
188,078,122
Area (km²):
8,511,965
Capital:
Brasilia
Language:
Portuguese
Religions:
Catholic, indigenous
Currency:
Real (BRL): BRL1 = £0.263
Dialing code:
+55
High season:
All year round
