A Latino vibe

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The iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro is a sightseeing opportunity clients should not miss.

Emirates Airline's Dubai-Sao Paulo service has creatied a wealth of opportunities for travel agents to sell trips to South America.

South America is a regular haunt for Middle East-based corporate travellers, but has rarely been sold as a holiday destination to the region's leisure travellers.

But this changed on October 1 when Emirates Airline launched its six times weekly non-stop service from Dubai to Sao Paulo in Brazil.

And as is usually the case when Emirates inaugurates a route, interest in South America as a holiday destination has been aroused. However, few travel agents are familiar with what South America has to offer the leisure traveller.

Luckily there are several Middle East tour operators offering packages to South America and each can provide training and support - so there is no need to panic.

Most focus on Brazil as a starting point and work with experienced ground operators at the destination that ensure Middle East clients are well catered to.

Jeanine Pries, president of the Brazilian government's tourism authority, Embratur says Middle East arrivals hit the 41,461 mark in 2006 - a number she hopes was topped in 2007 thanks to the new Emirates service.

These figures will receive a further boost on July 1 when the frequency of the service increases to daily.

Furthermore, Pires says Middle East leisure travellers will be attracted to Brazil's "varied climates, natural beauties, landscapes, culture and gastronomy".

"We can offer alternatives to fit the most diverse profiles of tourists: from those who prefer beaches, eco-tourism, culture and sports, to those who come to Brazil to participate in congresses, fairs and events," she explains.

Starting with Sao Paulo

Clients heading to Brazil on Emirates Airline are likely to stay in Sao Paulo when they arrive in order to recover from the 15-hour flight.

However, this is not the only reason to stay in the city, which offers some of the Brazil's best dining, shopping and cultural attractions, while pristine beaches including chilled-out family friendly Guaruja are just a one-hour drive away making Sao Paulo attractive to singles, couples and families alike.

There are 410 hotels including many big brands, such as Hyatt and Hilton; 152 theatres and showhouses; 66 shopping malls and one million points of sale; 87 museums; 12,500 restaurants; 257 cinemas and many festivals year-round including the famous Carnivale, while a trade fair takes place in the city every three days.

Luxury travellers are also well catered to with 200 helipads and 450 helicopters -- the chosen mode of transport for Sao Paulo's time-poor uber-rich elite, while private jets are in abundance.

"The profile of the Sao Paulo tourist is very different to that of the Rio [de Janeiro] tourist," explains Sao Paulo Tourism (SPT) president Caio Luiz de Carvalho.

"Rio is for mass tourism where beach and sun are the commodities and the typical visitor will spend around eighty US dollars a day. But in Sao Paulo they spend two-hundred US dollars a day - we are focusing on events, culture and business tourism for the higher-spend customer. We don't want to compete with the sun and beach destinations.

Carvalho says SPT is promoting market niches and itineraries worked around themes such as culture, shopping and gastronomy.

Its latest marketing and ad campaign entitled ‘Stay Another Day' is targeted particularly at corporate and MICE travellers encouraging them to explore what leisure opportunities the city has to offer once they have completed their business duties.

Planning a package

Most travel agents and tour operators will not have visited Brazil and so their destination knowledge is limited. Fortunately Emirates Holidays offers a number of packages and can help plan an itinerary.

The tour operator advises the trade to book organised trips and tours first and foremost.

"For customers that don't feel comfortable travelling around South America alone, it's best to organise every element of the trip for them," explains destination development manager for Europe & The America Marco Heinrich.

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