Within the framework of the IMEX in Frankfurt 2023 international fair, dedicated especially to meeting tourism, Travel2latam spoke with Alexandre Nakagawa, Embratur Advisor in Event Management and International Markets.
What does the MICE area mean for Brazil?
The MICE area is a strategic sector for Brazil, that is why Embratur has now built a management specialized in monitoring meetings, events and conventions, so for us both leisure and business is very important to later be able to obtain the numbers and data of tourists who visited Brazil.
What are the most outstanding destinations for meeting tourism?
In our country we have places prepared for conventions from the north to the south, but today we here at IMEX mainly promote the destinations São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Amazonas, so these are the most prominent, but of course also Foz de Iguazú, with the Iguazú Falls, is a very favorite destination among event organizers.
Which countries are the ones that generate the most event business for Brazil?
The most strategic countries are from Latin America, North America and Europe, we have large numbers of tourists from all those regions. For example, the United States is in first place in terms of events that are generated in Brazil, and also the United Kingdom and Germany are positioned in a very good place for us. International tourism is very important to us because of the connectivity and knowledge of the culture.
What is the situation of the tourism industry in general?
After the pandemic, now the travel sector is growing. So we have very good numbers of international tourist arrivals, both from Latin America and from other strategic countries. Therefore, both leisure and business have resumed their respective growth.
How is the promotion of the destination Brazil?
We have a strategy that is very focused on sustainability, a factor that we lend to the promotion of our tourism, since both in the events and leisure areas, policies and new practices have been implemented to continue developing this type of tourism.
Are there projects in terms of infrastructure?
Yes, there is a very large growth both in infrastructure and connectivity. More than 70% of the international tourists that arrive in Brazil do so by air, so Embratur has great work, projects and investments in terms of airports and connectivity infrastructure.
Which are the cities with the best connectivity except São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro?
We have the city of Brasilia, which is the Capital, which has connections from the United States, Latin America and Europe, and also from and to the interior of the country, both north, center and south. It is one of the cities that presents very interesting connectivity and allows the arrival of many international tourists. In addition, from Fortaleza or Salvador we also have direct connections with the European continent.
What is the growth projection for meeting tourism?
S ã o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro top the list of destinations for meetings, but in general international events are growing much more in our country. In the south of the country, Foz de Iguazú is very present both in MICE and in visitor and pleasure tourism, Florianópolis is also growing in the events part, and Porto Alegre and the entire region is exploiting the events part much more, therefore that we are sure that we will continue to increase positive results in this segment in various parts of the country.