São Paulo – The emirate of Dubai is included in a program by the Brazilian Travel Agencies Association (Abav) that will invest in qualification of Brazilian tourism operators in domestic and foreign travel destinations. The project, called Certification Program in Domestic and International Touristic Destinations, was launched last month and also includes South Africa, Aruba, Barbados, Denmark, Ecuador, Spain, Monaco, Norway, New York, New Zealand and Seychelles, besides the Brazilian city of São Paulo.
The vice-president for Abav’s Qualification and Certification Matters, Ana Carolina Medeiros, says that the goal is to make the travel operators ever more competitive and qualified to sell the destinations. “We intend for the travel operator to be an adviser with as much information as possible about the destination”, says Medeiros. According to her, upon identifying the client’s profile, they will offer the best destination if they are more knowledgeable.
The destinations that already were part of the program registered after a promotion campaign by Abav before the program’s launching and the majority of them are represented in the project by its tourism offices in Brazil. In the case of Dubai, the office participating is the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) of the emirate. Other cities and countries can and will join the program soon. Tourism attractions in the state of Maranhão, for instance, are negotiating their participation.
The operation of the program started with Abav promoting the possibility of training in each of the destinations for its state-level unities. The qualification takes place if the state-level offices of Abav express their interest for one of places offered or if the touristic city or country itself wants to offer the qualification in a certain state. Abav then provides all the logistics, in some cases even the hotel lodging, and the destination is responsible to send someone to present the qualification course.
Medeiros believes that the participation of Dubai could increase the number of Brazilian tourists visiting the emirate. The logic is that if the operator is not knowledgeable about Dubai, he or she will not be able to sell it. “The operator becomes enthusiastic upon acquiring knowledge and ends up increasing sales of the destination”, says the vice-president. Since the program was launched recently, the qualifications have not yet started. For now, there’s not an estimation for the qualification course about Dubai, according to Medeiros.
The certification can be awarded to both the operator and the agency, through the participation of its employees. They will receive certifications from Abav’s Institute of Qualification and Certification (ICCABAV) and from the touristic city or country to which they were trained. The majority of the qualification courses, all of the on-site, will be of four hours, but could be longer, according to the characteristics of each destination. At the end of the qualification courses, the operators will take an exam in which they will have to score at least 70% to receive the certification.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
