The guest in Ipanema is from Dubai

By Hazel Heyer l Special to eTN

Brazil is bracing for the arrival of tourists from Dubai. Emirates is to begin flying to the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro this October.

Nowhere in the world or in South America is Carnival taken seriously as in Rio de Janeiro which puts on what many consider as the greatest show on earth. Today, this show comes closer to the United Arab Emirates. Emirates Airlines’ new route opens Dubai's gateway to more entertainment and carnival madness in Rio.

Football capital’s Rio de Janeiro gears up for the fast-approaching kick-off of the Emirates flight starting October 2007. More than 500 agents met with the Rio tourism board on April 28 to 29 in Dubai in a trade show-seminar format hosted by Emirates Airlines. This October, six flights weekly will operate from Dubai to the Brazilian hub, possibly going through 35 different airports in Europe. The connection is viewed by key players in the Brazilian travel industry as a diversified, segmented market strategy with Asia, India, Russia and other giant feeder-markets gaining access to the city known for the Sugarloaf and the famous Christ The Redeemer at Corcovado.

Rio fulfills the expectations of the traveler seeking fun. “Get out there and find teams of fun-loving people and fun-filled places; enjoy great music and lots of outdoor activities is the slogan,” said Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director Paulo Senise.

Needless to say, a great deal of sports qualified Rio to host the four-week Pan-American Games. Well, besides football hall of famers Pele and Ronaldo headlining Brazil in the last decades to date, Brazil is about to make loud noise again. From July 13th- 29th, Rio will host 5,500 athletes from 42 pan-American countries, competing in 35 different sports and vying for the world top titles. Some 10,000 tourists and 3000 press are expected to fill the so-called Wonderful City which boasts 23,968 rooms in 353 hotels featuring a total of 277 auditoriums.

The Pan-American Games will be followed by the Para-Pan Games which hosts the disabled, handicapped or special needs individuals. “This will help us promote the requirements for redesigning the city as we attend to the special needs of the players who already make-up a huge market segment, commercially speaking, for us,” said Senise.

Games or events carry with them huge investments of about $3 billion to the city of Rio alone - from the beginning till the end of preparation for any event. It is estimated that 181 events held in Rio in 2006 attracted 206,000 participants and brought revenues of $179 million for Rio, according to the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau. Average stay of guests in event season is five days, with spends per capita per day of $240 for participants of international events and $180 for those of national events.

More resources have been invested in promotions abroad, including new tourism offices, and more charter flights allowed to fly into the country at a time when favorable exchange rates have helped make Brazil a cheaper destination to visit.

“Big investments make the city more competitive to bid for the next Olympics – which is our objective and for the next Soccer World Cup in 2014; we hosted it in 1950 but left a bad taste because we lost to Uruguay. That’s why we need to make sure everything’s done this time in perfect order,” Senise underscored the need to attract more investments, get government involvement, and make it everybody’s goal to endorse the plan. Rio's CVB chief said they need to make new adjustments and will showcase it all during the Pan-American games. The city is receiving new equipment, retro-fitting facilities to adapt to the needs and standards of the associations which will bring in fresh investments from the private sector.

end of part one

Printable Version | published Jun 07, 2007

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