{"id":418407,"date":"2026-10-09T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=418407"},"modified":"2026-10-09T16:46:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T19:46:03","slug":"driven-by-a-passion-for-african-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/driven-by-a-passion-for-african-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Driven by a passion for African travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Founded in September 1996 by S\u00e3o Paulo native Adriano Lucchesi and two longtime friends, Carlos Tadao Kawamoto and Guilherme Spina, following an expedition of nearly a year across Asia and Europe, Atlantic Connection Travel (ACT) has marked 30 years in business, specializing in trips for Brazilians to African countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince my teens, I had dreamed of traveling the world with just a backpack. So, as soon as I graduated in 1995, I set off with my two friends for destinations that were little known to Brazilians at the time. We spent six months in Asia alone. I came back so deeply affected by the experience that I decided to turn my dream of starting a company into reality. Together with my friends, I founded Atlantic when I was 24,\u201d says Lucchesi, who holds a degree in business administration from Brazilian university FGV.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Kruger
Kruger National Park in South Africa: A trip to the country helped shape the agency\u2019s focus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Unlike traditional travel agencies, which focus on classic destinations such as Europe and North America and resell third-party packages, the Brazilian tour operator took the opposite approach, specializing exclusively in Africa through its own operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company now operates in half of Africa\u2019s countries, covering destinations ranging from the continent\u2019s Arab nations in the north, such as Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, to safari circuits and beach destinations in the east and south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe idea of starting a travel company came from a desire to serve Brazilian travelers who were not yet ready to travel on their own. When considering destinations for our trips, we wanted to choose places with a certain level of demand,\u201d Lucchesi says.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Atlas
Atlas Mountains in Morocco: Brazilians seek out the North African Arab country for tourism<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The decision about where to focus the company\u2019s travel offerings did not take long. It came after the founders returned from their nearly yearlong trip, when Lucchesi and his partners attended a trade fair in Johannesburg, South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the time, South Africa was transitioning to democracy and reengaging with international tourism, which caught our attention. We returned fascinated by the destination and considered organizing trips there. After calculating the flight time, we made our decision and chose the country as our company\u2019s first destination,\u201d says Lucchesi, who holds an MBA in Tourism Economics from the School of Economics, Business Administration, Accounting and Actuarial Science at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP), as well as a master\u2019s degree in Sustainable Tourism in Africa from USP. He is currently the company\u2019s sole managing partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnother reason we chose to focus on Africa was not just love or passion, but a strategic assessment of the market. Africa remains relatively unexplored by tourists, and travelers often find it more difficult to plan independent trips there. As a result, they seek help from a specialized tour operator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traveling to North Africa<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Among Africa\u2019s Arab destinations, Egypt and Morocco are established markets, but they attract travelers with distinct profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Adriano
Adriano Lucchesi at the pyramids in Egypt: The country is a classic destination<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cEgypt has always been a classic global destination, with tourism focused largely on the pyramids, historic cities such as Luxor and Aswan, and Nile River cruises. Its visitors tend to be more traditional travelers. Morocco, on the other hand, has grown significantly with the resumption of direct flights and attracts younger, more adventurous travelers. We can even offer self-drive trips there, with clients driving their own rental cars,\u201d Lucchesi notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Lucchesi, Tunisia is included in the company\u2019s itineraries but remains a relatively unpopular destination among its clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customization, nature and three generations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Offering complete packages that include international and domestic flights, safari lodge bookings, licensed local guides and transfers, the company creates tailor-made itineraries for solo travelers, couples and families.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Zanzibar
Zanzibar beach in Tanzania: The country generates the most revenue for the travel company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cFamily travel is the company\u2019s main driver today. We serve everyone from small groups to entire families of 35 people traveling together,\u201d Lucchesi says. \u201cSome clients honeymooned with us 20 or 25 years ago and now return with their grandchildren, bringing three generations together on the same trip. The loyalty of those who traveled with us years ago and never forgot the quality of our service is the greatest reward for our work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By passenger numbers, South Africa remains the company\u2019s most popular destination, followed by Tanzania\u2014which generates the most revenue\u2014Kenya, the southern Africa circuit covering Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and the Indian Ocean islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two operations and a global reach<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To manage the continent\u2019s logistical complexity and the company\u2019s exponential growth over the years, the brand adopted a binational model built around two complementary operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Brazil, the parent company, Atlantic Connection Travel, is responsible for attracting clients and providing dedicated service to travelers based in the Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Cape Town, South Africa, where Lucchesi currently lives, ACT Afrika Tours & Safaris, founded in 2009, coordinates operations across Africa and sells packages to travelers from Europe, Asia and Oceania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the beginning, the operation has been supported by a strong partnership with South African Airways, an airline specializing in flights to the African continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also<\/em>:
Brazilian travelers are redefining tourism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report by Rebecca Vettore<\/strong><\/strong>, in collaboration with ANBA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Supplied<\/div>
\u00a9Patrice Correia\/Biosphoto via AFP<\/div>
\u00a9Cegalerba-Szwemberg\/Hemis FR via AFP<\/div>
Supplied<\/div>
\u00a9Mehmet Aslan\/Anadolu via AFP<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founded in S\u00e3o Paulo after its partners spent nearly a year traveling across Asia and Europe, Atlantic Connection Travel serves classic North African destinations, including the Arab countries of Egypt and Morocco, while distinguishing itself through tailor-made itineraries to other countries across the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2342,"featured_media":418378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[58349,49688,26760,48455,12730,9558,9692,9893,48914,28491,11228,36584],"class_list":{"0":"post-418407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tourism","8":"tag-act-2","9":"tag-africa-3","10":"tag-egito-en-2","11":"tag-egypt-2","12":"tag-leisure-en","13":"tag-morocco-en","14":"tag-tourism-en","15":"tag-travel-en","16":"tag-tunisia-2","17":"tag-tunisia-en-3","18":"tag-turismo-ar","19":"tag-viagens-en"},"wps_subtitle":"Founded in S\u00e3o Paulo after its partners spent nearly a year traveling across Asia and Europe, Atlantic Connection Travel serves classic North African destinations, including the Arab countries of Egypt and Morocco, while distinguishing itself through tailor-made itineraries to other countries across the continent.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418407","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\/2342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418407"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":418425,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418407\/revisions\/418425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}