São Paulo – During the panel on Branding and Tourism at the Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum, tourism officials from Morocco, Jordan and Egypt discussed the exponential growth in Brazilian tourist numbers visiting their countries. Magdi Abu Yacub of the Jordan Tourism Board said the country went from seeing 5,820 Brazilian travelers in 2016 to 10,852 in 2017, an increase upwards of 80%, according to him, without much effort being put in.
“We are focusing on adventure travel and on promoting the country through films shot in our landscapes,” he said in mention of movies shot in the red desert and elsewhere in Jordan, like Lost in Mars and Indiana Jones. “Petra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, we have canyons and waterfalls, the Red Sea, and we also work to promote religious tourism, since Jesus was baptized in our country (in the River Jordan),” said Yacub.
The director for new and digital technologies at the Moroccan National Office of Tourism (ONMT), Noureddine el Mamoun, said the country welcomed 50,000 tourists from Brazil in 2017, with numbers increasing by 40% in the last three years thanks to the addition of nonstop flights from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to Casablanca, by Royal Air Maroc.
The Rio-Casablanca flight went online three years ago, and the São Paulo-Casablanca route was added two years ago, according to him. “The increase in flight numbers is conducive to tourism,” he said, mentioning that digital strategies also work to lend credibility and build the country’s image as a travel destination.
Mohamed Mohesen, Egypt’s tourism director for Latin America, said the number of Brazilian travelers climbed 86.5% in 2015 from 2014. He said the Holy Family route (religious tourism) and health tourism niches have taken on new relevance, and the industry is being promoted through actions on social media, public relations and crisis management in a drive to build the country’s image and increase the range of products available.
Panelists included chef de cuisine and business owner Alex Atala and the founder of Tátil Design of Ideas, Fred Gelli, who mentioned similarities between Arabs and Brazilians. “We have one thing in common: we smile,” said Atala. Gelli said both Brazilians and Arabs boast infectious energy, and that “we must take advantage of this bridge and explore it in a more strategic way.”
On the same note, the Brazilian Presidency’s strategic affairs secretary Hussein Kalout said “Brazil is unquestionably the biggest Arab power outside the Arab world.” The panel on Branding and Tourism was moderated by Caio Carvalho, a director at Brazil’s TV Bandeirantes channel, and by Orient Planet managing director Nidal Abou Zaki. It also featured Amina Hamshari, director of the French-Palestinian Cultural Institute.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
