Brazil passes law creating Vale da Felicidade route in Rio Grande do Sul

Law 15.482, signed by the President of Brazil and published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, establishes the Vale da Felicidade tourism route in Rio Grande do Sul. The route includes twenty municipalities—Alto Feliz, Barão, Bom Princípio, Brochier, Capela de Santana, Feliz, Harmonia, Linha Nova, Maratá, Montenegro, Pareci Novo, Portão, São Pedro da Serra, São Sebastião do Caí, Salvador do Sul, São José do Hortêncio, São José do Sul, São Vendelino, Tupandi and Vale Real—and aims to stimulate tourism development with support from official regionalisation programmes. The legislation also ensures that any future municipal mergers or splits involving these areas will remain part of the route.

The bill originated as PL 1.028/2022 introduced by Deputy Osmar Terra and was approved by the Senate in July under the rapporteurship of Senator Hermes Klann. Klann highlighted the strategic location of the area between the Porto Alegre metropolitan region and the Serra Gaúcha, noting its strong German and Italian immigration heritage reflected in traditional festivals, rural itineraries, local cuisine, architectural patrimony and cultural expressions.