From participation in the World Travel Market Latin America to environmental preservation projects, Queirós offers a comprehensive view of the wonderful city's tourist scene. Check out the highlights of the conversation with Travel2Latam.
Travel2Latam: What is the experience of participating in the 11th edition of the World Travel Market Latin America like and what is the relevance of this event in boosting tourism in the city of Rio de Janeiro?
Jonas Queirós: The City of Rio de Janeiro, through Riotur, always participates in WTM Latin America with great enthusiasm. It is one of the largest and most important tourism fairs in all of Latin America. It is essential for professionals and companies in the travel and tourism sector. The event offers networking opportunities, industry insights, lead generation, brand strengthening and competitive benchmarking. It is an important platform for establishing partnerships, learning about trends and increasing visibility in the Latin American tourism market.
Travel2Latam: Rio has an annual calendar of events, which ones would you highlight? How much does carnival raise on average for the city?
Jonas Queirós: Our calendar of national events to promote the “Rio product” shows that we are much more than sun and beaches. The big events are there to prove this, and the numbers are impressive. A great example is the collection during Carnival, which reached 5 billion reais (somewhere around 1 billion dollars). It is worth mentioning that the numbers are part of a partnership between Riotur, the City's Economic Development Secretariat and the João Goulart Foundation. Rio has been recovering this capacity thanks to good management, making the city more diversified and involved with technology, sustainability, among other issues, mainly focused on qualifications and employability. Speaking of technology, we cannot forget that this week we inaugurated Porto Maravalley, being an innovation and technology hub for the city, in addition to the edition of the Web Summit Rio. Furthermore, we can highlight other major events such as the return of the Michelin Guide awards, Rock in Rio, G20, Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants, among others, as well as the biggest New Year's Eve in the world in Copacabana.
Travel2Latam: Show business has been fundamental for tourism in periods of low occupancy, this was the case with Taylor Swift last year. On May 4th, Rio will host Madonna’s “The Celebration Tour”. What is the expected revenue?
Jonas Queirós: Madonna's acclaimed “The Celebration Tour”, which celebrates her 40th anniversary, is being widely discussed in the media. The city hall expects revenue of R$293.4 million (around US$49 million). This reinforces Rio as the capital of major national and international events. We will continue with an agenda of national and international promotion, showing a Rio that is increasingly inclusive, sustainable and with open arms waiting for tourists.
Travel2Latam: Considering the environmental impact of tourism, especially in natural areas like Rio de Janeiro, what are the projects underway or planned by the company to promote environmental preservation and deal with issues related to the increase in trash generated by tourists?
Jonas Queirós: Rio de Janeiro is increasingly concerned with sustainability, and this is reflected in the projects we are supporting, such as Sustenta Carnaval, Praia Circular, among others. Increasingly, tourism has proven to be an important economic and social activity for the city, strengthening the destination, stimulating the training of the workforce, encouraging new ventures and employability, in addition to requiring an even more qualified and integrated infrastructure.
Interview and photo: Mary de Aquino