Staff writer Denise Mota
Caribbean island Curaçao has been working for at least the last six months for the popularization of its tourism attractions among Brazilians. The place was elected by prestigious travel guide Frommer´s as one of the top 10 sites of 2012. And, in an attempt to repeat the outstanding performance of Dominican Republic –which has registered Brazilian tourists as its fastest growing group in the country–, the island will be present, only in February, in four different meetings in Brazil.
“We have a paradise landscape, lots of hotels able to hold any and every kind of event and an unbelievable artistic offer. All this makes our country the ideal place for all kinds of tourists, with all kinds of economic situations”, said Ghatim Kabbara, CEO at Curaçao Tourism Office, to the tourism website Brasilturis. The main objective of the island in Brazil, tells the executive, is to attract companies so that they can know Curaçao and convince them that making a summit in the island ends up to be cheaper than arranging the same event somewhere in the Northeast of Brazil.
This week the island –which belonged to Netherlands— takes part in Lacte – Latin American Corporate Travel Experience, organized by Brazilian Business and Events Travel Association (ABGEV), considered to be the biggest event of its kind in the country. The meeting will gather corporate travel agencies, online agencies and other companies linked to this market.
Iconic Curacao Photo courtesy passportmagazine.com
Another important event to have Curaçao in its centre is a business journey in São Paulo with the most important Brazilian hotels and 30 invited tour operators. “We will work to make Curaçao the favorite island of the Brazilian”, said Kabbara.
The island has already promoted a cycle of workshops to sales professionals within tour operators and travel agencies in São Paulo. The same kind of activity has already been made in other important cities in the country, such as Belo Horizonte and Brasília. The training started last year, in July.
Also in 2011, some tour operators in Brasília and its outskirts (in cities such as Goiânia and Campo Grande, for instance) signed up an agreement of partnership with Curaçao and Gol airlines to put in their package tours the weekly direct flight between the two countries, leaving every Saturday from Brasília airport.
Read Portuguese version here
