World Travel Market Latam: has the future finally arrived for Brazil?

There is a saying in Brazil, inspired by the title of a book by writer Stefan Zweig, that "Brazil is the country of the future – and always will be", alluding to the eternally unfulfilled expectation of that great country's success.

But at a tourism level the development of the country in recent years has proved that this saying is out-of-touch with modern Brazil: the future seems to have finally arrived.  

World Travel Market Latam once again last week opened its doors and it couldn’t be in a much better position. This year Brazil is the host country for the event, confirming the privileged position that the country is living when it comes to tourism industry leadership.

It is not a secret that Brazil has managed to be in the spotlight of the international travel trade industry during the last four years. First came the football World Cup in 2014 and then the Olympics in 2016, which both put the country in front of the eyes of the whole world. So what’s next – how do you top that?

With the momentum of both events Brazil has managed to take advantage of the international attention to attract a considerable mass of tourists.

Additionally however, Brazil is emerging as an important source market for global tourism.  According to bookings made via Hotelbeds Group’s platform already it is the main Latin American source market –  and has become our seventh globally (up two positions compared to the previous year); by the same measure domestic tourism in Brazil has also increased 32% in room nights compared to the previous  year.

With these credentials, Hotelbeds Group didn’t miss a chance to be present at this year’s edition of the World Travel Market Latam in São Paulo, where we had a stand combining our three bedbank brands – Hotelbeds, Tourico Holidays and GTA – under one roof.

Over 50 colleagues from the Wholesale Sales and Sourcing departments attended the event to represent our company. Showcasing our products to potential and existing partners, they held more than 200 meetings that could drive win-win growth opportunities for both our partners and our business.

Lauren Volcheff, Responsible for Sales Americas of Hotelbeds Group commented “The increase in the number of Brazilian tourists travelling domestically can be attributed to several measures to promote tourism in the country. On the one hand, the recent opening of new air routes has improved mobility inside the country; but this also acts as a benefit for those visiting Brazil from outside, as this year we are also registering an outstanding increase in the number of tourists coming from the United States – with 69% growth in room nights. On the other hand – as part of the government’s Tourism Plan – the boost of ecotourism and regional tourism are pushing the development of domestic tourism by making known internal destinations previously unknown to date by Brazilians.”