The city's port has always played a key role in the local and regional economy. During much of the Portuguese colonial period it was Brazil's principal port, exporting sugar, cacao, and tobacco and receiving tens of thousands of slaves imported from Africa. The port and city still play a critical role in the economy of northeastern Brazil, providing commercial services for a vast region and exporting cocoa, sisal, soybeans, and petrochemical products. Local industries include fishing, oil and gas extraction, cigar manufacture, a petrochemical complex at Camaçari, an oil refinery, and tourism. The Centro Industrial de Aratu, a planned industrial park, occupies a vast area around the Bay of Aratu and is home to over 100 industrial firms.
The city's spectacular natural setting, nearby beaches, unparalleled colonial architecture, and African heritage have attracted increasing numbers of tourists in the last few decades. In the early 1990s the Bahian state government took measures to enhance the Salvador's appeal to visitors, especially the restoration of the Pelourinho district in the city's historic core, the site of its colonial slave market and pillory. The city's Carnival festivities, held just prior to Lent during a four-day period at the end of February or the beginning of March, are a significant tourist attraction.
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