{"id":407049,"date":"2026-03-20T16:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=407049"},"modified":"2026-03-20T16:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T19:38:10","slug":"brazil-seeks-investment-in-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazil-seeks-investment-in-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil seeks investment in tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The seminar \u201cTourism and international business: Brazil and Arab countries\u201d presented this Friday (20) the opportunities and challenges for the sector in Brazil. At the event, organized by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC<\/a>) in S\u00e3o Paulo, the National Secretary for Infrastructure, Credit and Investment in Tourism, Carlos Henrique Menezes Sobral, presented sector data and highlighted where opportunities lie in the country: in 2025, Brazil welcomed a record 9.3 million foreign tourists, who spent nearly USD 8 billion. This year, Sobral said, the number of foreign visitors is expected to exceed ten million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was attended by Tourism Minister Gustavo Feliciano and, via a recorded video message, UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais, as well as the president of the ABCC, William Adib Dib Jr., and the institution\u2019s vice president of International Relations and secretary-general, Mohamad Orra Mourad. Following remarks by Feliciano and Dib, Sobral opened the first panel of the event: \u201cInvestment Portfolio & Investment Portal and Guide by the Ministry of Tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Othman
Othman Baba (L), from Royal Air Maroc, and Luis Sobrinho, a consultant at InvestSP, took part in the event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Brazilian government, Sobral said, has projects to expand tourism infrastructure, offers credit lines for the sector, and is seeking foreign investment. \u201cThe focus is on attracting private investment to tourism. Brazil is being seen as a country that attracts investment. Major hotel chains are investing in the country, in projects in the Northeast and in S\u00e3o Paulo. We have growing demand, structuring projects, and opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fernando Masuela, head of Multinationals and the MENA division at Bahrain-based Banco ABC, said tourism in Brazil has great growth potential but remains \u201cunderexplored.\u201d Masuela noted that the sector is expected to expand in the coming years given Brazil\u2019s continental size and cultural diversity. He pointed to luxury and experiential tourism, as well as investments in logistics infrastructure, as segments with strong expansion potential. \u201cThe growth potential [of tourism] is huge, but it needs capital from investment banks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second panel, \u201cGlobal Air Bridges: Logistics connectivity and the flow of investment between Brazil and the Arab world,\u201d featured representatives from tourism bodies and Royal Air Maroc. Luis Sobrinho, a consultant for the S\u00e3o Paulo State Tourism Secretariat and the S\u00e3o Paulo State Agency for Investment Promotion and Competitiveness (InvestSP), presented the state\u2019s infrastructure as well as opportunities to develop tourism in S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohamed Amine Eljoudani, representative of the Moroccan tourism office in Brazil, shared the institution\u2019s experience in the country. Morocco, he said, decided to expand its tourist outreach in the post-pandemic period in markets with strong purchasing power or rapid growth. As a result, it opened offices in Japan, South Korea, India, and Brazil, in S\u00e3o Paulo. In 2023, he noted, Morocco received 34,000 Brazilian tourists, a figure that approached 60,000 in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrazil is a resilient market, and we are confident that this growth trajectory will continue in the coming years,\u201d he said. Amine noted that the institution has worked alongside Brazil\u2019s tourism industry, promoting trips to Morocco and providing training so travel agents can \u201csell\u201d Morocco as a destination to their clients.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Panel
Panel on logistics connectivity featured both in-person and online participants<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Another factor behind the increase in travel exchange between Brazilians and Moroccans, said Royal Air Maroc\u2019s regional director for South America, Othman Baba, was the establishment and expansion of the airline\u2019s flights to the country. After suspending its operations in Brazil during the pandemic, the airline resumed flights in 2024 and, the following year, increased frequency from three to four weekly flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increase, the executive said, raised seat capacity to 130,000 per year, up from 85,000 when the airline operated three weekly flights to S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cWe\u2019ve observed a shift in the passenger profile, now made up of more business travelers and trade missions,\u201d Baba said. He also shared the profile of the Arab traveler: a preference for exclusive destinations, a complete travel experience, and high standards. \u201cThat\u2019s why we invest in connectivity,\u201d he added, citing connecting flights to the Arab world via its Casablanca hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jin Bruno Petrycoski, municipal secretary of tourism of Foz do Igua\u00e7u, southern state Paran\u00e1, said the city is investing in attracting Islamic tourists. The city is home to a large Muslim community. Among the initiatives are a halal tourism guide, launched in 2024, featuring halal-friendly destinations in the city, and plans to create an Arab neighborhood. In addition, he said, Foz is investing in attracting flights from international airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Dib and Mourad, the ABCC was represented at the seminar by treasurer Mohamad Abdouni Neto and board members Claudia Yazigi Haddad, William Atui, and Arthur Jafet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/em>:
Brazil signs deal to attract Arab tourists<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marcelo Bramer\/Arab-Brazilian Chamber<\/div>
Marcelo Bramer\/Arab-Brazilian Chamber<\/div>
Marcelo Bramer\/Arab-Brazilian Chamber<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seminar at the Arab-Brazilian Chamber highlights opportunities and challenges for sector investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2317,"featured_media":407024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46537],"tags":[9583,9534,37980,15786,9550,18437,9558,5447,9941,10080,9692],"class_list":{"0":"post-407049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arab-brazilian-chamber","8":"tag-arabs-en","9":"tag-brazil-en","10":"tag-foz-do-iguacu-en-2","11":"tag-halal-en-2","12":"tag-halal-en","13":"tag-investments-en","14":"tag-morocco-en","15":"tag-opportunities","16":"tag-royal-air-maroc-en","17":"tag-sao-paulo-en","18":"tag-tourism-en"},"wps_subtitle":"Seminar at the Arab-Brazilian Chamber highlights opportunities and challenges for sector investment.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}