Embratur shows optimism for the end of the year and the beginning of 2025

In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Bruno Reis, Director of Marketing, Business and Sustainability at Embratur.

How was your experience here at the WTM event?

WTM is one of the most important fairs on the calendar. There are 54 co-exhibitors on the Brazilian stand. Many of them promote combined and consolidated products, such as Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu and Salvador, but they also bring the Brazilian Amazon, the Pantanal as a safari product and our UNESCO natural heritage sites, such as the recently approved Lençóis Maranhenses. In addition, we promote our direct international air connectivity with Brazil.

We recently launched two important flights, Paris-Salvador de Bahia with Air France last week and last Monday the direct Lisbon-Manaus flight that also connects Europe with the Brazilian Amazon. So promoting this is very important.

Here I imagine you have had conversations with people from all over the world, since it is a very international fair.

Yes. The main associations, the big tour operators and Embratur will have three major international campaigns, one starting in Europe in the first quarter of 2025, then in the United States starting in June, and in South America in the second half of the year. So it is time to meet with the big tour operators to talk about tourist conversion rates and the objectives we will set for the future.

Our commercial strategy is to promote some niche segments in specific markets. Yesterday we did a specific cooking show on the gastronomy of El Pantanal, because it is a product that we want to take on safari with observation of fauna and flora. 

So there was a strategic line behind this event, right?

An alliance with LATAM. Now we even want to do press tours to design campaigns and promote this region of the country.

How is the year going for you and what was your experience of 2024? 

It was an extremely positive year, and we are sure it will end very well. We are optimistic for 2025 as well. Our main challenge in involving other industry players is to consolidate, which is why we are resuming relationships with many industry partners in 2024, with the main associations we want to work with, such as luxury, wildlife and flora observation, ecotourism, adventure, incentives, etc.

Which destinations do you think the country will see the most growth next year?  

Some specific destinations through direct connection, for example, our Afrotourism options for Bahia will surely grow with connectivity with Air France.

Also Lima-Curitiba. The Lima-Curitiba flight is important because it connects with North American passengers.

New direct flights will increase on the Asuncion-Recife route. Offering direct flights is very strategic for Brazil.  

Will Embratur have a stand similar to this one at upcoming events in Europe and internationally?  

We have a project to update the design, but our main challenge is not only the design of the stand, it is to better qualify our tourist offer so that entrepreneurs who come to the fairs generate more business. Then, there is also our basic work of training Brazilian entrepreneurs in the destinations so that they are really in line with the businesses that this market wants to buy.