São Paulo – Egypt is a classic. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, has been on the rise as a tourist destination over the last three years, and so is Jordan, which offers attractions such as Petra. What is new is that very shortly, other Arab countries will start sharing tourist attention with established routes and gaining space in travel agency ads. Places that should appeal to Brazilian travellers include Abu Dhabi, in the Emirates, and nations such as Oman and Qatar, among others.
Proof of that is the fact that CVC, Brazil’s leading tour operator, has just launched a package for fans of the Porto Alegre-based soccer team Internacional to go to the FIFA Club World Cup 2010 finals, due December in Abu Dhabi. For such, the company has reserved seats with companies such as Emirates Airlines, South African, KLM and Lufthansa. The packages, for 8, 10 or 13 nights, start at US$ 4,138 per person. "We have 245 seats reserved on flights in these packages," explains the CVC’s product manager for Asia, Middle East and, Rodrigo Tobias. "But we are expecting a total of 350 passengers," he says.
According to Tobias, Abu Dhabi should gain importance as a tourist destination among Brazilian travellers, especially after actions such as the inauguration of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the first Ferrari theme park. Scheduled to start operating in October, the attraction, located in an area of 200,000 square metres, should appeal to the racing team’s lovers. Want more? There will be two other heavyweight debuts: the building of branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in the emirate. "Abu Dhabi is going to be a route to stay in and visit, it will no longer be a one-day stop for those staying in Dubai," says Tobias.
The executive also bets in Oman and Qatar. "Oman is a promising destination. Muscat, the capital, is charming, like an old-time Dubai," he says. "Qatar, in turn, should also grow because of the convenience of flights offered by Qatar Airways," he believes.
The president of the Brazilian Travel Agency Association (abav), Edmar Bull, agrees with Tobias. He adds one more name to the list of Arab routes that will become popular in coming years: Bahrain. "Operators are already preparing themselves to offer packages to these places," he says. "These are countries that attract business and leisure travellers," he explains.
In addition to the new developments, Só Dubai, the Middle Eastern division of travel agency Canadá TUrismo, is going to offer travel packages lasting five to seven days to countries in the region, which are dear to Brazilians because they were the origin of most Arab immigrants living here: Lebanon and Syria. The routes will be launched in October and should include the capitals Beirut (Lebanon) and Damascus (Syria). "The appeal of Arab countries lies in their culture and history, and interest in them is growing among Brazilians," says Eduardo Camargo, a director of Canadá Turismo. Also a director of Canadá, Gabriel Camargo explains that new packages will also include cities such as Tripoli, Byblos and Baalbeck, in Lebanon, and Palmira, Crac des Chevaliers and Aleppo, in Syria.
Gabriel, who is an enthusiastic traveller of the Arab world, explains that in addition to becoming immersed in history and art, getting to know the region helps in broadening one’s horizons and becoming aware of a series of concepts. "In Qatar, for instance, the Islamic Arts Museum grabbed my attention, as did a centre for promoting the Muslim religion in Doha," he says. "Our image of Islamism is very distorted. I found out that nearly everything we heard in this part of the world about that religion is not true," says he, who rates his trip to Qatar as a "very interesting visit " that is "always recommended."
According to the Market Development Department of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, 50 million tourists travel to the Arab countries each year. The most visited countries include Saudi Arabia, because of religious tourism, Egypt, Tunisia, the Emirates and Morocco. In order to encourage trips to the region even further, the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s Tourism Committee wants to support professional organizations operating in the industry, such as tour operators, travel agencies and journalists seeking contacts and information.
Out of the 22 existing Arab countries, six announce the share of tourism in their economies, namely Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Jordan. Bahrain, one of the hot spots-to-be, for instance, has 64% of its GDP linked to the activity, which generates annual revenues of US$ 19 billion. And the figure will only tend to increase, once the local beauties become more and more frequently visited by Brazilians.
Service
CVC:
www.cvc.com.br/invasaocolorada
Só Dubai:
http://www.so-dubai.com.br/index.asp
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
