The Brazilian government is implementing plans to help improve the services on offer to international visitors ahead of the projected 600,000 overseas arrivals and three million local tourists for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The Associated Press said that a committee that includes officials from several parts of the government has been meeting regularly to discuss means of enhancing visitor services. Some measures have already been agreed upon, including the creation and renovation of 105 visitor centres to attend to tourists in the 12 host cities – a project that is costing around US$16 million.

The government committee has already met in Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo and Brasilia. It is expected to meet in all other host cities by the end of the year before reporting its findings to the government. The committee’s latest meeting has seen it discuss the possibility of adding new air travel routes during the World Cup with airline industry officials. There are currently no direct flights between many of the host cities, but this issue is expected to be addressed by January. The government last month created a committee to monitor hotel and airline ticket price increases as anticipation for the tournament builds.

“How we welcome these tourists will determine the image that they will take away from the country,” said tourism ministry official Izabel Barnasque.