São Paulo – Tour operators in Brazil are forming a pool to promote Tunisia as a tourist destination. A meeting between representatives of operators took place this Tuesday morning (27) at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) headquarters in São Paulo.
Tunisian Slim Fsili has been living in Brazil for 15 years and is the director of a tourism agency specializing in Tunisia and other North African countries, Gold Experiences. He heads the destination promotion project together with the director of the National Tourism Office of Tunisia, Leila Tekaia, who participated in the event over the internet. “The idea of this pool is to increasingly bolster this destination among Brazilian tourists,” said Fsili.
The pool has eight operators: Abreu, Agaxtur Viagens, Asia Total, Flot Viagens, New Age, Uneworld Viagens e Turismo, BRT, and Raidho Viagens. Eduardo Barbosa, director of Flot Viagens, was appointed leader of the pool named Vamos, Tunísia! [‘Let’s go; Tunisia!’, in free translation]. Vilmara Souza, Product Manager of Agaxtur, Carol Virgolino, Product Analyst of Unewolrd, Fernanda Almeida, Product Coordinator of New Age, and Jefferson Santos, Commercial Vice President of Asia Total, also participated in the meeting in person. Representatives from BRT and Raidho participated online.
Fsili stated there would be exclusive itineraries for operators participating in the pool, including two mini-circuits of three to four days for cultural tourism and discovering the desert and oases. He informed hotels in the Arab country have very attractive prices. Among the tourist attractions are the Coliseum of El Jem, the white and blue city of Sidi Bou Said, the medina of Tunis, the Roman ruins in Carthage, dromedary rides, beaches, and resorts in Hammamet, and the desert region where the Star Wars movies were shot, among others. There is even a wine route option.
“I am convinced Tunisia can be a very successful destination for this and next year,” said Eduardo Barbosa. Leila Tekaia said it was the first time she participated in a meeting bringing together the operators’ interest in the destination. She stated the creation of a tourism operator’s pool brings more visibility to the destination.
Carla Marin, account executive at ITA Airways, also attended the meeting. According to her, currently, there are three flights a week from Rome to Tunis, and from São Paulo to Rome, the flights are daily. With this, it would be possible to suggest customers, in addition to Tunisia, could also visit cities in Italy or other countries in the Mediterranean region.
Fsili invited operator representatives to participate in a Famtrip, or a destination familiarization trip, at the end of January. “It is important for operators to know the destination well to be able to sell the destination well,” said Fsili. He also made himself available to train operators’ employees and stated companies could ideally start selling the destination from next year’s carnival, in February, until June, and in the second half of 2023, from September until New Year’s Eve, to avoid the higher summer temperatures.
Also at the event was the honorary consul of Tunisia to São Paulo, Rubens Hannun, and the Marketing director of the ABCC, Silvana Gomes. Arab Chamber director Sami Roumieh participated in the meeting’s opening. “Tunisia is a tourist country prepared to welcome; it has a tradition in tourism,” said Roumieh.
Hannun said Tunisia has already received 4 million tourists this year alone, and the sector is returning to significant growth in the Arab country. With the operator’s pool, he expects the number of Brazilian tourists to grow even more to this destination. Hannun congratulated the initiative and made himself available to collaborate.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro