São Paulo – The Moroccan National Tourism Office in Brazil is participating in the WTM Latin America fair, which ends this Thursday (16) in São Paulo, for the first time bringing 16 tour operators to its booth in search of Brazilian tourists. Alongside it at the event is the Egyptian Tourism Authority’s space. While Morocco is betting on increasing its popularity in Brazil, Egypt is relying on its new Grand Egyptian Museum as one of its main attractions.
According to the local representative of the Moroccan National Tourism Office, Mohamed Amine Eljoudani, the number of Brazilians traveling to the country grows every year due to promotional efforts for Morocco as a destination in Brazil and increased interest among Brazilians. Eljoudani says that football is drawing the attention of Brazilian tourists.
In 2025, the country received a record 60,000 Brazilians. The tourism authority expects to surpass that mark this year, even with the conflict in the Middle East. “Brazilians like Morocco. They travel to get to know the country, spend their vacations, and do business,” he said.
Dounia Bouaddi, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Complete Tours in Marrakesh, says her company is participating in WTM Latin America for the first time. She was encouraged by inquiries from tourists from Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, who became interested in Morocco after it was announced as one of the host countries for the 2030 World Cup.
She stated that Morocco offers a new tourism experience for those who have already visited European countries or Egypt and Tunisia, and is characterized by combining cultural aspects of Europe and the Arab world. She also noted that Moroccans are interested in visiting Brazil. “During the summer holidays, we can see that Moroccans are interested in visiting different destinations such as Brazil and Mexico, while at the same time there is renewed interest among Brazilians in visiting Morocco.”
Attia Yamany, CEO of Dunas Travel, an Egyptian company that brings Brazilians to the Arab country and is exhibiting at WTM, said that Brazil is the company’s second-largest market, although far behind the top market, Spain. Last year, of the 96,000 tourists who traveled with Dunas Travel, 80,000 were Spanish and 4,000 were Brazilian.
According to Yamany, Dunas had been optimistic about prospects for this year until the beginning of the conflict in Iran. One reason for that optimism is the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Opened at the end of 2025 in Cairo, the museum brings together relics from Ancient Egypt and has become a major draw for foreign visitors. Last year, Egypt received a record 19 million foreign visitors.
That outlook, however, has given way to uncertainty due to the conflict in Iran. Although far from the war zones, Egypt is being affected by rising fuel costs. “It will be difficult to maintain the strong performance we had last year; we expect to revise our estimates in the second half. For example, we are facing a €100 higher cost for travelers flying from Madrid [Spain] to Egypt on charter flights due to increased fuel prices,” he said.
Daniele Martins, supervisor of the Brazil division at Golden Nile, a company with its own offices in Cairo and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, said that demand for trips and packages to Egypt has remained steady despite the conflict. For Dubai, demand is still “normal” starting in May, but clients are waiting for the conflict to end before deciding to travel. Partnering with Golden Nile, Monica Miotto, representative of the Brazilian company Travel Hub, said that fuel-related costs have indeed increased. “But since the dollar has fallen, it has ended up offsetting this increase,” she said. Both companies are also exhibiting at WTM.
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