São Paulo – The city of Rio de Janeiro should receive a seminar to foster the business and travel flow between Brazil and Lebanon. The First Brazil-Lebanon Tourism and Business Forum should take place on Friday (26) at Caesar Park Hotel, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and will include the presence of the Lebanese tourism minister, Fadi Abboud, who will also be in the country to participate in the World Travel Market Latin America, an international travel fair to begin on Tuesday (23), in São Paulo.
One of the main focuses of the meeting in Rio is tourism. “Lebanon, which receives over one million tourists a year, has history, archaeology, geography, cuisine, music and art festivals and trade, which creates an environment that is appropriate for tourism,” said the consul general of Lebanon in Rio de Janeiro, Ziad Itani. The forum is promoted by the Federation of Chambers of Foreign Trade and the Brazil-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce of Rio de Janeiro, with the support of the Consulate General of Lebanon in Rio.
The forum should cover means for expansion not only of tourists from Brazil in Lebanon, but also of Lebanese tourists in Brazil, mainly in Rio de Janeiro. Itani recalls that when Emperor Peter II was in Lebanon, he invited the Lebanese to visit Brazil, which provided incentives, at the time, to immigration. Today there are already several actions to foster the travel flow between both regions, including an agreement making Beirut and Rio sister cities, signed in 2010. “This strengthened relations between both countries, especially in the travel sector,” said the consul.
The forum is scheduled to begin at 9:00 am and end in the late afternoon. Minister Abboud should participate in the opening. There will be panels about tourism in Lebanon and Rio de Janeiro. There should also be workshops and business roundtables between travel operators and agencies in both countries. The Lebanese minister should travel to Brazil with a delegation, to include not only Ministry of Tourism professionals, agents, travel operators and representatives of the hotel sector. In all, there will be 14 people in the delegation, according to information disclosed by the consulate of Lebanon in Rio.
According to the Event and Business coordinator at the Federation of Chambers of Foreign Trade, Nina Vitória Felipe, at the forum, Brasil should also be represented by authorities and members of Federal, State and Municipal governments. Admittance is free and the event is turned to professionals and businessmen interested in travel business with Lebanon.
Service
First Brazil-Lebanon Tourism and Business Forum
April 26th, Friday, at 9:00 am
Caesar Park Hotel – Salão Petronius – Av. Vieira Souto, 460 – Ipanema –RJ
Information and enrolment: (+55 21) 3804-9289
E-mail: fcce@cnc.org.br
Programme: http://www.fcce.org.br/i-forum-de-turismo-e-negocios-brasil-libano/
*Translated by Mark Ament