São Paulo – Foreign tourists arriving at Brazilian airports will be able to receive information on cultural attractions, heritage and architecture, open-air attractions, leisure, and shopping on their cellular phones.
The application that makes the service available was developed by the Ministry of Tourism, by means of Embratur, and will be available starting on this Wednesday at the international airports of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. By June 12th, it will also be available in the cities of Brasília, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Fortaleza, Recife, and Florianópolis. By August, the cities of Cuiabá, Natal and Curitiba will also be included.
"The use of new technologies is an important ally for us to improve services provided to tourists, with speed and quality. Furthermore, it contributes to break old paradigms about Brazil and strengthen our image as the modern country that we are," stated the Brazilian minister of Tourism, Luiz Barretto, in a press release issued by the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur).
The service also provides photographs and routes via Google Maps, enabling visitors to view the nearest attractions. Access to the software will be free of charge, through a wireless network made available by the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero) in the country’s main airports.
“Surveys conducted by Embratur among international tourists show that the Internet – currently widely accessed via mobile phone – is already the leading source of information for foreign tourists in several countries,” explained Jeanine Pires, president of the Embratur.
Before travelling to Brazil, visitors will also be able to download the tool to their mobiles at www.embratur.gov.br/mobile or to their computers, at www.braziltour.com/mobile.
Information will be available in English and Spanish at international arrival rooms in airports in order to help foreigners install and use the tool. The technology is available in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
