São Paulo – The opportunity to offer experiences and a personalized welcome for tourists traveling to Brazil and Latin American were some of the reasons that led journalist Hassan Massoud and public relations Karen Hayek (pictured) to open HaLatina, a company focused on Muslim customers. The company will provide halal, or Muslim-friendly, tourism services.
Halal in Arabic means “lawful”. Halal products and services are those that don’t contain alcoholic beverages of pork, for instance. “When they visit a country, [Muslim] tourists also seek a alcohol-free and halal environments where women wearing a veil can feel comfortable,” said Massoud.
“Our purpose is to provide a distinctive welcome for Arab customers visiting Brazil. There are still some ignorance and apprehension regarding the language and the culture. And halal isn’t widely promoted in Brazil yet,” Massoud told ANBA during a visit to the headquarters of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in São Paulo.
The founders of HaLatina aim to provide various experiences to Muslim customers during their stint in Brazil. The company’s team is made up by people who speak Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and English and will be able to accompany the customers in their travels around the country. The team can suggest visits and tours or organize a holiday package based on the inputs of the visitors. The reception of Muslim tourists will start at the moment of their arrival in the airport in Brazil.
The first customers of HaLatina have their tickets to Brazil already booked: They are members of Arab delegations that will be in the country in late October to participate in the Global Halal Brazil, a forum on halal business opportunities to be held by the ABCC in São Paulo.
“Our suggestions will include presenting the cultural tourism, providing the best services and unique experiences at the most famous landmarks of Brazilian cities. We’ll also take our customers to various symbols of the Arab culture around here,” Hayeke promises.
“Our unique feature will be allowing the customer to experience this knowing that, since we ourselves are Arab, we’ll know how to make them feel comfortable in our tour,” said Hayek, who’s Lebanese like Massoud. If the visitor has a particular business agenda in Brazil and wants to bring his family, Hayek said, the company can organize a specific program for their family including other services available.
A tour example that the partners mention is Carnival in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo or Salvador, Bahia. The customer can experience the festival within the halal rules, said the partners. “Comfortably and at the best spots to have the full experience that Carnaval can provide,” said Massoud.
Interested parties can contact HaLatina via WhatsApp at +55 11 91265-5551 or by visiting its website.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
