The economy of Ipojuca has been thriving in recent years thanks to the boom of tourism, and now, with a new oil refinery being built, Ipojuca is going to become the city with the second largest economy in the State of Pernambuco.

In Ipojuca we have Porto de Galinhas beach; it is one of the most famous beaches in Brazil according to magazines and travelers.

The village of Porto de Galinhas is very small; indeed, only a couple of streets with a central square, called “Pracinha” (little square). The village concentrates restaurants, shops and the residences of the local dwellers; most hotels occupy spaces along the beach, both North of Porto (towards Muro Alto) and South of Porto (towards Maracaipe). Also, it is from the village that visitors depart to boat and buggy trips to the beaches in the neighbourhood of Porto. All of the commerce in Porto is within a couple of blocks of the Pracinha. Further out, in any direction, the city is purely private homes, hotels, and pousadas.

The origin of the name is well known. Porto de Galinhas means "Port of Chickens" in Portuguese. In the second half of the 19th century, the Brazilian government imposed restrictions to the commerce of slaves, who were widely used as manpower in the sugarcane farms around Recife; to circumvent the prohibition, slave ships looked for other places to harbor, far from Recife. One such place was in the bays around Suape and Ipojuca, about 60 km south of Recife.

When a ship arrived in town, as it was prohibited to mention the word “slaves”, the expression used was "there are new chickens in the port"; hence, the place gained its name Porto de Galinhas.

In 2006, the readers of Viagem e Turismo magazine (Voyage and Tourism), one of the most important travel magazines published in Brazil, elected Porto de Galinhas as the best beach in Brazil. More impressive is the fact that this was the 6th time in a row that Porto was awarded the prize, ever since Viagem e Turismo started this survey.

Porto is in the northeast of Brazil, near the Equator, which means sunny weather, warm sea, permanent breeze; Porto is of easy access, under 100 km from a major city, Recife, with all its infrastructure, including a modern airport; Porto has a multitude of hotels and restaurants, catering for pockets of all sizes; this touristic infrastructure gives visitors all the comfort they want, leaving out stress and violence.