The cities of São Paulo (SP), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Salvador (BA) were the destinations of the first familiarization trips, also known as famtours, in 2024. In total, 28 tour operators from the United Kingdom, the United States, Colombia and Mexico participated in the 'Specialists in Brazil' program, promoted by Embratur in alliance with Sebrae, which aims to expand the connection between Brazilian and foreign tourism companies to increase the marketing of travel packages abroad for Brazil.
The 28 operators were divided into three groups and simultaneously discovered, in a five-day famtour, the culture, gastronomy, diversity and the main tourist attractions of the capitals of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. In the end, the international operators met on Tuesday (26) at the Clube dos Marimbas, in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, with 38 representatives of the national tourism sector.
For the president of Embratur, Marcelo Freixo, the resumption of familiarization trips followed by business rounds with Rio trade increased the visibility of the destinations and further boosted the economy.
“This event model, with famtours followed by a large round of negotiations, has not been held for 14 years. We resume because we understand that business generation increases, which means that more tourists come to Brazil. “We brought, for example, afrotourism operators from the United States, and they were able to learn about our Afro-Brazilian culture and history here, and they are already returning home with commercial agreements signed with agencies specialized in receiving tourists interested in this experience,” he said.
According to the manager of Experiences and International Competitiveness of Embratur, Mónica Samia, the Specialists in Brazil program is a reflection of the convergence of actions between the Agency and Sebrae, with the aim of positioning Brazil in a prominent place in the tourism showcase. international.
“It is a new cycle in the field of the alliance between Embratur and Sebrae Nacional, which incorporates a more convergent action with the strategies of this management, putting diversity, inclusion, innovation, transparency and alliances at the forefront. All processes gained more robustness: the choice of markets, based on data; guest selection, which prioritizes the adherence of the operators' profile to the authentic experiences of the Brazilian destinations visited; the incorporation of more technical visits to the itinerary; the daily collection of feedback from the participants,” he mentioned.
“All this culminates with the realization of a relationship meeting, the reactivation of a long-discontinued activity, which connects guests with national commerce – DMCs, destinations and entities – creating the conducive environment for the investment to become business,” added Mónica Samia.
Balance Sheet
The year 2023 was positive for Embratur familiarization trips. In total, there were 54 guests from Germany, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Spain, England, Mexico, North America, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay. Visited Northern destinations (Manaos and Parintins); Northeast (Campina Grande, Caruaru, Recife and Fernando de Noronha); Southeast (Rio de Janeiro); Midwest (Jalapão and Chapada das Mesas) and South (Foz do Iguaçu).
In addition to these itineraries, Embratur brought international operators to the Rota das Emoções, in a famtour organized in collaboration with Sebrae Nacional, which passed through Ceará, Maranhão and Piauí.