Business tourism in Brazil booms on the back of campaign
The Brazilian government has taken great strides to promote the country as a great tourist destination for both the leisure and business traveller.
This month, the tourist board, Embratur, launched the second phase of its major advertising campaign, Brazil Sensational!, with the unveiling of its completely renovated website.
Embratur has invested heavily in the campaign, with the total spending expected to reach $88 million (£55.1 million), and it has focused on improving its online media presence, with more diverse digital content on the site.
"Our objective is to show the public Brazil in real time through mediums that are already a part of their daily routine, while taking advantage of the innumerable possibilities the Internet offers," said Jeanine Pires, president of the tourist board.
"We want to make it easy for people to visit Brazil, but also encourage them to learn about all our country has to offer."
Another of the specific areas that Embratur has been focusing on promoting is business tourism and according to Chris Fuzinatto, UK and Ireland director for the Brazilian Tourist Board, the numbers of people visiting the country have been steadily rising.
Over the last year, Brazil has seen annual growth in tourists – both business and leisure – of around three to four per cent, with nearly 182,000 British people travelling to the country last year, up from 169,000 in 2006.
In addition, the Brazilian consulate in London has confirmed that four times more people are applying for working visas currently, compared to previous years, suggesting that even more Brits may be looking to snap up property in Brazil at the moment.
Mr Fuzinatto said that Brazil has all the facilities to suit the business traveller, with "fantastic infrastructure" throughout the country.
"We have extremely good quality hotels and a well connected network of flights in Brazil and besides all that, we are a fantastic destination as well," he added.
The tourist board started working on its major marketing strategy since 2004, promoting five particular areas – sun and beach, culture, ecotourism, sport and business and events.
"Obviously business and corporate – as well as leisure – is our focus, but I would say in the last three years, we have grown a lot more in the corporate travel sector as well," he explained.
"Brazil is also an up-and-coming developing country, it’s part of the Bric [Brazil, Russia, India and China], and there are thousands of business opportunities for Brazilians and also for foreign investors," Mr Fuzinatto said.
He added that the current boom in the Brazilian property market is also helping in the promotion of the country, as well as its economic position.
"We’re very strong on our main sectors in Brazil, energy, export and tourism. We have good quality conference centres and we cater really well for the business traveller as well as the leisure traveller," Mr Fuzinatto asserted.
When it comes to destinations, he said that cities right the way across the country offer facilities for conferencing.
"The most popular places for events are Sao Paulo, the biggest hub of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu Falls, Salvador and Brasilia.
"We also have Recife, which is really good, Natal and Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Genais," he added.
