Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – Eight Brazilian companies are going to participate in the Hotel Show, the hospitality sector fair to take place in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, between June 4 and 6. Most of the companies do not yet export to the Arab market and believe that the fair is one of the ways to enter the countries in the region.
"We find participation in the fair interesting as Dubai is a market that is growing very much in the hotel and hospitality sector," stated the director of company Saad Larcipretti, Rosangela Larcipretti, who develops and executes interior architecture projects for hotels, companies and homes. This is the first time that the company is going after foreign clients. "We believe that we are going to have an effective result in Dubai," finished off the project coordinator at the company, Juliana Larcipretti.
Another company to participate is São Thomé Quartzito Brasil (STQB), a stone quarry that exports quartzite to 15 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. "We have full conviction that we are going to win the Arab market as quartzite is an exclusively Brazilian stone and has excellent quality and natural beauty," stated the manager at STQB, Otávio Mangia Cobra.
According to him, 80% of the extraction at the quarry, which is located in the city of São Tomé, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, is turned to the foreign market. To Cobra, the advantages of the quartzite form São Tomé are that the stones are athermanous, anti-skid and have four natural colours, yellow, green, pink and white.
Company Glasart, in turn, a maker of decoration products, like mirrors, screens, pictures and trays, has never participated in a fair abroad. According to company director Wagner Carlos Ribeiro, the company is going to take a thermal tray to Dubai. "It is one of our releases. The tray keeps the plate or cup placed on it at 80 degrees Celsius," he said.
According to Ribeiro, the main Glasart customers in Brazil are home centres, furniture retailers and decoration companies. Last year the company even exported to Mexico and Spain, but exports did not proceed this year due to exchange rates. "I believe that we have good chances on the Arab market," stated Ribeiro. Glasart produces between 6,000 and 7,000 items a month and employs 26 people.
Apart from these companies, the fair is also going to include Nadir Figueiredo, a maker of cups, refractory serving dishes and glass plates; Rubinetto, of taps and sinks; Antica, of pictures and vases; Sarasa, of window frames; trading company DWR, representing company Marcelo Fernandes, a maker of decoration objects; and Cia. Orgânica, of organic coffee.
The companies participating were selected by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), with the support of the Science, Technology and Development Secretariat of the State of São Paulo and of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
Hotel sector in Dubai
Between 2000 and 2005 the occupation of hotels in Dubai grew 40%. The government of the emirate believes that by 2010 approximately 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Dubai should be invested in tourism. According to Emirates News Agency, the official news agency of the Emirates, the country is the main destination for investors in the hotel sector among the Arab countries.
*Translated by Mark Ament
