São Paulo – Attending an imperial dinner at a palace, harvesting grapes straight from the vine, planting a tree by a track in the woods, fishing, or making clay pots in native communities are some examples of experience tourism, a global trend that attracts those not content with just admiring new landscapes.
All that it takes is some Internet searching to realize that the new modality has become a trend in Brazil. The main differential of experience tourism consists of trips that include an unique activity, something that enables visitors to interact. The trip becomes sort of an adventure, quite different from what people are accustomed to in daily life, especially if they live in large cities.
The solution for those who live in São Paulo, the capital of the state of the same name, for instance, may be close by, on the coast. Travel agency Entreter Turismo, based in São Sebastião, on the North coast of São Paulo, has a package named Expedição Caiçara (Native Tour). The route starts in Ilhabela and comprises jeep riding, trekking and a nautical tour.
“Tourists may engage in activities that relate to native culture, such as mariscar (seafood fishing), artisanal fishing, typical meals, canoe riding, an trekking along tracks that only the locals know,” explains Rogério Barroso, the agency‘s owner. “Visitors may also watch local artisans working, and they may even make a fishing net or a cooking pot,” he says.
Those who like sophistication have the option of getting to know Rota Petrópolis Imperial (Imperial Petrópolis Route), on the mountain range of the state of Rio de Janeiro. At the Paraíso lodge, for instance, tourists may have dinner in an atmosphere of nobility, inspired by 19th century cuisine, while listening to the Serenata Imperial (Imperial Serenade). “The route leads tourists to experience the daily life of then, awakening viewers’ sensibilities to musical and poetic styles typical of the Brazil Empire age,” says Evany Noel, the owner of travel agency Imperial Tour.
Nature lovers may also take a track that includes a stop to plant a tree. “The person may put a sign with their name on it, and then follow up the tree’s development on the Internet, at the lodge’s website,” explains Evany.
If the selected destination is Serra Gaúcha , the mountain range of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, then the route may include a dirt road that leads to a barn, in a scenario reminiscent of old historical novels, or a chapel in which to meet or pray. This setting may be seen at the grape and wine producing region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The tour includes a visit to the Immigrant’s Museum and lunch or dinner at the Sbroglio restauraunt, in the municipality of Nova Prata.
“Visitors may get to know the museum, harvest the vegetables that will be served in the meal, or bring home fruit and flower seedlings,” says Maria Sbroglio, the restaurant’s owner.
Maria’s restaurant is part of the project Economia da Experiência (Economy of Experience), a pilot programme developed by the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism alongside the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), the local Union of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Similar Establishments (SHRBS), and local micro and small tourism industry companies.
These tourist attractions are being developed based on the Sociedade dos Sonhos (Dream Society) concept, whose product formation and sales proposal takes into consideration above all the feeling, the experience and the emotion that it will elicit in consumers. “The idea is for each attraction to be an unique experience for the tourist,” explains the executive director of the local SHRBS and manager of the project in the region, Márcia Ferronato.
Also in the Rio Grande do Sul mountain range, tourists may spend a different day at Villa Valduga. The programme starts with abundant breakfast served at the vineyard. Afterwards, visitors receive a straw hat and an apron and go out harvesting grapes. “It is all done to the sound of an Italian choir,” says Andresa Provenzi, the lodging manager of winery Casa Valduga. After an Italian lunch and visits to the laboratory and the wine-bottling facilities, tourists may participate in the grape-crushing process. “This route is offered from January to March, when grapes are harvested,” says Andresa.
According to Sáskia Lima, the general coordinator of Segmenting at the Ministry of Tourism, the project began in 2006 and now includes enterprises in five different regions of Brazil. In addition to the grape and wine producing region, where it all started, now the initiative comprises tourist enterprises in Belém, in the state of Pará, Costa do Descobrimento, in the state of Bahia, Bonito, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and Petrópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
“In these four years, the project generated a working methodology that may be applied to other regions of Brazil, which surely has much potential for receiving tourists seeking an unique experience,” she claims.
Contact
Entreter Turismo
Telephone: (+55 12) 7814 1715
E-mail: guiadepasseios@gmail.com
Site: www.entreter.tur.br
Imperial Tour
Telephone: (+55 24) 2231 1558
E-mail: evany@imperialtour.com.br
Pousada Paraíso
Telephone: (+55 24) 2223 3670
E-mail: paraiso@pousadaparaiso.com.br
Site: www.pousadaparaiso.com.br
Sbroglio Restaurant
Telephone: (+55 54) 3242 5536
Villa Valduga
Telephone: (+55 54) 2105 3154
E-mail: reserva@villavalduga.com.br
Site: www.casavalduga.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
