In a bid to showcase Brazil as a leisure destination to the Indian travel trade, the Brazil India Business Council recently organised its first tourism-focused event ‘Discover Brazil’ in Mumbai. Josal Luiz Pellegrino, Consul General of Brazil sated that the Indian market is of great importance and has high potential for the destination. “India is expected to record 20 million outbound tourists and Brazil is looking forward to attract them to the upcoming events. Our aim to highlight the importance of the Indian market and spread awareness of the diversity and offerings that Brazil has for everyone,” he said, adding that tourism contributes to 2 per cent of Brazil’s GDP and the government intends to increase this percentage.
Pellegrino further opined that the Council will promote and assist cultural and tourism exchange and business investment between the two countries. “We will hold two more meets later this year in Mumbai and Delhi to promote and highlight Brazil’s vast offerings for the Indian market. We want to promote Brazil as a leisure hub.” The Council will aggressively promote the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014 and Olympic Games 2016. Brazil aims to have 10 million foreign visitors a year before the World Cup. “These events can show the image of the country to the world. If we don’t achieve our visitor target, we will still reach close to those numbers. It’s fair to say that there will be a significant level of interest from visiting fans in Brazil’s main cities, such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and the government has taken note, investing plenty of funds into suitable infrastructure,” Pellegrino said.
Commenting on upping their hotel room inventory in light of the upcoming events, Pallegrino informed that hotels would certainly go some way to maximising Brazil’s tourism potential. Current estimates suggest that there are only 100,000 hotel rooms in the country. “There are plans to add 42,000 new hotel beds in the north-east of Brazil. Aparecida, which is already a well-known tourist resort, has been granted funds to construct a brand-new 330 room hotel. Moreover, some of the country’s most well-established accommodation facilities have received funds for further expanding their properties. The Hotel Gloria in Rio, which is the second largest in the country, has received money for renovation work in order to reach standards of safety and sustainability,” he added.
Commenting on air connectivity, Pellegrino said that Brazil is now well-connected globally via connections with six airlines, including Dubai through Emirates, Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways, Johannesburg with South African Airways, and Doha with Qatar Airways. “The country will be connected with Addis Ababa via Ethiopian Airways in June this year,” he informed.
At the event, industry players such as LATAM Airlines Group, Emirates and Etihad Airways, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts made presentations highlighting Brazil’s versatile offerings, including ecotourism, adventure, leisure and scenic attractions
