Manaus – Brazil’s Amazonas state welcomed 1.16 million tourists last year, 30% of whom were foreigners. The Arab countries did not rank among the leading issuers, but the state is looking to attract more visitors from the Middle East and North Africa.
“Our nature is not at all similar to the nature of the Arab world,” said the head of the AmazonasTur Marketing and Tourism Promotion Department , João Carvalho. Amazonastur is one of the organizations responsible for tourism in the state. Carvalho believes that due to the peculiarities of nature, Amazonas could potentially see a stronger influx of Arab tourists.
The Department head says Arabs do come to the state, but mostly to visit relatives, since Amazonas is home to a large Arab community. Last year, the bulk of foreign tourists in Amazonas came from the United States. Other countries that issued tourists in large numbers were Germany, Spain, France, Japan, China, England and Italy.
More and more tourists are coming to Amazonas each year. In 2003, 283,000 tourists took leisure trips to the state. In 2013, 957,900 people came, and last year, inbound tourists exceeded the 1 million mark. The capital, Manaus, was one of the 2014 FIFA World Cup host cities. The number of airport arrivals was even higher: 3.3 million.
Amazonas is working to increase its tourist appeal and thus increase the population’s income. Last year, the local tourism industry saw a turnover of US$ 472 million. There are several luxury hotels in the state, some of which are set in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, and there are tourist service centers in the municipalities that people travel to.
The state is home to 39% of the Brazilian Amazon, and much of tourism revolves around the rivers, especially the Negro and the Solimões. There are forest reserves, boat rides, visits to native communities, interaction with the boto (local dolphin) in the river, overnight stays in boats, zip-lining, tours for watching alligators and other local animals, and cultural attractions. The capital, Manaus, features Teatro Amazonas and Arena Manaus, the World Cup stadium.
Carvalho discussed tourism with the Arab diplomats visiting Amazonas this week, as part of a mission organized by the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil, with backing from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
The group was welcomed by the state governor José Melo (affiliated with political party Pros) and by City Council president Wilker Barreto (PHS), and also met with executives at the Federation of Industries of the State of Amazonas (Fieam), where they were told about the local tourist attractions. The delegation also comprised the Arab Chamber president, Marcelo Sallum, CEO, Michel Alaby, and the third Deputy Chief Secretary of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry’s Middle East II Division, Lucas Pinheiro.
The delegation comprised the ambassadors of Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Algeria, Oman, Morocco, the League of Arab States, and delegates from the embassies of Sudan, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
