São Paulo – The secretary-general & CEO of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), Tamer Mansour, attended appointments in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, from May 31 to June 1. The executive’s trip was made at the invitation of the city government, which hosted the Falls Festival this week. Mansour attended the event’s opening and met with local and national authorities.
One of the main topics addressed during the trip was how to promote Muslim-friendly tourism and families as a whole. “The visit was focused on the context of tourism. With the mayor of Foz do Iguaçu, Chico Brasileiro (PSD), we discussed how to make Foz do Iguaçu the first capital of ‘halal family-friendly’ tourism, bringing more investments in sectors such as hotel chains, for example,” stated Mansour. The same topic continued in conversations with the secretary of Tourism and Strategic Projects of Foz do Iguaçu, André Alliana.
At the meeting with Danilo Vendruscolo, president of the Commercial and Business Association of Foz do Iguaçu (ACIFI), other topics were also addressed. Innovation, through the ABCC Lab, the ABCC’s branch dedicated to startups, in addition to joint work in areas such as certification of origin and documents.
One of the meetings was with the general director of Itaipu Binacional, Enio Verri, and the general manager of the Itaipu Tourism Complex, Yuri Benites. “It was excellent. We debated a lot about possibilities such as joint ventures and investments,” pointed out Mansour.
On a visit to the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, the secretary-general watched presentations on the philanthropic and religious work of the place, in addition to meeting with authorities such as the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Carneiro, and the president of the Brazilian Agency for International Promotion of Tourism (Embratur), Marcelo Freixo. “I had excellent conversations that could lead to future actions,” he pointed out.
Mansour also discussed projects such as the creation of an intelligent Muslim neighborhood with the use of technologies and automation. The idea is for the area’s construction to be carried out jointly by Brazilians and Arabs.
Other meetings were with Faisal Ismail, businessman and director of the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, who collaborated and followed the appointments in the city, and with Dimas Cesar Bragagnolo, chairman of the Board of Directors of Sicoob, with whom he also spoke about topics such as Islamic finance.
“All the conversations I’ve had with city, state, and federal government authorities lead us to only one certainty. Halal tourism is coming, and Foz do Iguaçu is the best-prepared city for it,” concluded Mansour.
The Falls Festival encompasses other activities, such as the Tourism and Business Show and the Iguassu International Tourism Forum. This Friday (2), the lecture to close the forum’s schedule will be by Marcus Vinicius, Market Intelligence manager of the ABCC. The executive will address Muslim-friendly tourism, bringing data on this population and opportunities to invest in the sector. According to estimates by the State of Global Islamic Economy, halal tourism is expected to capitalize USD 189 billion by 2025.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
