“We receive one million tourists a year, we are not mass tourism, we are highly segmented tourism. So these are not numbers close to those of grand mass destinations, but for specialized destinations it is a very good occupancy rate. We want to continue growing and with a slightly higher average occupancy rate and an increase in spending, and not grow too much flow", Bruno Wendling.
Tourism generates revenue of 400 million dollars per year for Mato Grosso do Sul, according to data from Fundtur.
Mato Grosso do Sul was once part of the state of Mato Grosso, dismembered 46 years ago, and today it is more or less the size of Germany.
The state was developed by the Arabs (Syrians and Lebanese), Japanese and Paraguayans, there are eight ethnicities of indigenous tribes: Guarani, Kaiowá, Terena, Kadwéu, Kinikinaw, Atikun, Ofaié and Guató, mainly in the Dourados and Aquidauana region, which is the city that is home to the most visited winery at the moment, Terroir Pantanal.
Last year and this year, Fundtur and the Vivejar Institute carried out the project "Bridges for Community-Based Tourism in Mato Grosso do Sul" in 5 indigenous villages, the first of the 4 stages foreseen in the project, which is a preparation for the tourist field within the state's indigenous villages, which empowers the local population. Therefore, this indigenous experience tourism will soon be possible in Mato Grosso do Sul.
According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the indigenous people of Mato Grosso correspond to 4.22% of the population, with 116,346 thousand people, present in 32 territories.
The MS as it is known, is bathed by rivers such as the Paraná, Paraguay, Miranda, Aquidauana, Rio Pardo and shares borders with Paraguay and Bolivia. Very well known for tourist destinations such as Pantanal, Bonito and Bodoquena.
Campo Grande is one of the most wooded capitals in Brazil, organized, with wide spaces, it has the beautiful Parque das Nações Indígenas, where the Bio Parque Pantanal is located, which was opened last year, and is already the largest freshwater aquarium in the world . Within the park there is also the Dom Bosco Culture Museum, with a contemporary internal space, and with a very rich collection of people, impressive for its preservation, care and training of the monitors.
In the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul there is an international airport, and many runways for smaller planes in many cities and farms, since it is a state where the biggest economy is agribusiness, it is natural for farmers to have their planes.
Popular gastronomy is celebrated at the Central Fair, with restaurants where you can taste sobá, a dish incorporated into the culture of MS due to the influence of Japanese immigration. Casa do Peixe is a fish all-you-can-eat restaurant (a kind of tasting menu), freshwater fish is typical in the indigenous diet, it is a unique experience, with many variations of species and recipes. The traditional Empório Mansur marks the Arab presence in the state's culture. There are countless restaurants in the capital, which is a gastronomic hub.
In bakeries the traditional Chipa Paraguaia, which is also sold at traffic lights by street vendors. And at any time Tereré, which is yerba mate with other herbs, added with ice water, in times before the pandemic was a drink shared in circles. Which lost its meaning for health reasons. 3 days are recommended to explore the capital.
If you go inland, you must try barbecue, alligator meat, piranha broth, homemade sweets from the farms, and ride among the beautiful landscapes that the state has. An opportunity to discover the diversity of fauna and flora of the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest and Pantanal biomes, and look at the wide, almost always blue sky under a scorching sun and with an immense diversity of birds.
Minas Gerais tourismologist Bruno Wendling saw a Mato Grosso do Sul beyond agribusiness, he envisioned the tourism industry, and in Fundtur he consolidated what he believed in. He transformed the state that has Pantanal and Bonito into a destination that goes beyond natural beauty, but into tourism that shelters culture, gastronomy, and teaches about nature.
Read the interview with Bruno Wendling below:
Travel2Latam: Have you always dreamed of working in Tourism?
Bruno Wendling: I never thought about tourism, hotels, the day I saw that tourism existed was on the walls of the university entrance exam institution where I studied. Until then, I looked, I traveled a lot when I was a child with my parents, mainly to the beach, and even less to Mato Grosso do Sul. To give you an idea, I didn't even know Bonito, I went to see Bonito later when I was eighteen or nineteen. old and didn't even live in Campo Grande anymore, but I got to know the Pantanal, I took the train trip to the Pantanal, so for me it was traveling, right? I didn't have that idea, I only got to know tourism when I was starting college.
Travel2Latam: What are the differences in tourism in Mato Grosso do Sul before and after your management?
Bruno Wendling: When I took Mato Grosso do Sul, of course, a rich, beautiful state, with beautiful destinations already structured and consolidated in some way, which was Pantanal and Bonito, but without any management. Without management, without governance, without the capacity for coordination between trade and public authorities and without any market positioning, in other words, there was no tourism strategy in Mato Grosso do Sul at that time.
In the past, even when I worked fifteen years before I took over, there was a little less politics, there was a strategic design, but I found something to be restarted and we managed in the first two years to restructure the tourism in Mato Grosso do Sul, regaining the tourist trade in Mato Grosso do Sul and starting, sometimes from the beginning, some issues of forming a state council, state law, even to give a little legality, legitimacy also to the work of governance .
Today Mato Grosso do Sul is highly organized, with the ability to position itself, which knows what it has, which knows what it can offer, and who it can offer it to, and how it can offer it.
Fundtur managed to expand markets, increase the flow of tourists, managed to attract new flights, managed to implement public management not only of the foundation itself, but also of the tourist regions. And today I understand that it serves as a bit of a reference for what public management is, what destination management is for our country.
Travel2Latam: What is the top 5 in international and national tourism today in the state of MS? What is the annual number of visitors?
Bruno Wendling: Well, the top 5 in international tourism for Mato Grosso do Sul, first is Paraguay and Bolivia, because we are borders. So there are almost 80 thousand tourists a year coming by car, so it's easy to get to Mato Grosso do Sul.
If you leave the South American hemisphere and go to the America and Europe hemisphere, top 5: United States, Germany, England, Holland, especially these European countries that are the main ones. At the moment we are prospecting a lot in Argentina, so that there is an increase in these tourists.
Top 5 Brazil: São Paulo, of course, shot! Then we are mixing between Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul. They are dividing it, Rio de Janeiro, into a top 6, and changing it sometimes. The top 1 is always São Paulo either by air or by road.
In numbers, we receive more or less a million tourists per year, we are not mass tourism, we are highly segmented tourism. So these are not numbers close to those of grand mass destinations, but for specialized destinations it is a very good occupancy rate. We want to continue growing and with a slightly higher average occupancy rate and an increase in expenses, and not grow too much flow.
Travel2Latam: How to get to Mato Grosso do Sul, did you mention Bolivia and Paraguay, which are easily accessible by road, and by air?
Is the hotel chain structured to receive tourists?
Bruno Wendling: Well, the infrastructure to reach the state today is very smooth. Of course, the main route is Campo Grande, but you can also get there with direct flights to Bonito, via São Paulo, Congonhas or via Campinas. From Corumbá, which is also the Pantanal region, you arrive via Campinas, direct flight to Corumbá, but it is easy to get there via Campo Grande as well. After all, it is less than 300 kilometers to Bonito, 200 kilometers to Pantanal, the roads are very good, so access is easy.
The region's hotel network is very rich, diverse and beautiful, there are more than 70 accommodation options for all tastes, from hostels to resorts.
In the Pantanal there are the Pantanal inns, which are spectacular, they are actually farms, which have been transformed or adapted part of the farm into inns, some have luxury inns in the Pantanal, and there are also hotel boats. Which are super cool in Corumbá, highly structured, with a swimming pool, high quality cuisine.
Campo Grande, the capital, is ready for event business, as it has a very good and diverse structure.
Travel2Latam: In September you were one of the winners at the traditional Skål Internacional São Paulo in terms of destination. What was it like receiving this award?
Bruno Wendling: I was very happy, although I don't work to receive awards, but when we are recognized by an institution like Skål that is almost 70 years old, and you see the other 6 winners, then you are happy because you know that it is serious. That you were nominated and recognized by Brazilian tourism professionals, so I feel happy.
We work hard, we are passionate about tourism, I have been doing it for 23 years, and being recognized for my work, and I think I am the youngest in the group, is a reason for great joy.
Travel2Latam: Is this the state’s first time at WTM London? How is the trade fair going?
Is Mato Grosso do Sul exhibiting at the Embratur stand, which also prepared material for the destination aimed at the international market? Is there also a new campaign to launch tourism in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul?
Bruno Wendling: It is the fifth WTM London of my management. We've been coming since 2017, we just weren't present during the two years of the pandemic. Mine in particular is the third, so it's a market that we already know well, the English market is excellent for the state, especially for the Pantanal region.
WTM is the second largest fair in the world, so it is very essential that we are present here to present the main destinations, serve European operators, and international press.
We are activating a really cool action, launching the Pantaneira Gastronomic Route - Water Edition. It is the second edition of this route, which aims to promote not only gastronomy, but also Pantanal culture personally, through gastronomy.
These three days generate a good expectation of self-movement and a lot of exchange of information so that we can strengthen the publicity of our destinations.
Report and photo: Mary De Aquino