Brazilian Tour Operators Ready to Dive into Barbados

Eight of Brazil’s top tour operators are poised to deliver a strong sales pitch to prospective visitors to Barbados following a familiarization trip to the island.

The fam trip materialized out of a recent Barbados expedition to Brazil where the island secured an agreement with GOL Intelligent Airlines that will see direct flights commencing in June 2010. The agents visited several hotels, attractions and restaurants throughout their March 10 – 13 visit to the island.

The highlight of their trip was a seminar/ marketplace event on Friday March 12 where they were given a chance to meet face-to-face with several key industry players. The Barbados Tourism Authority’s (BTA) VP Caribbean, South and Latin America, Walter Stokes, delivered the welcome address, during which he emphasized the mutual benefits that the budding partnership can augur for all involved.

He was followed by Sue Springer, executive vice president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association, who delivered a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the key elements of the island’s tourism product: its attractions, diverse accommodation options, its nightlight and festival, sports tourism activities and its world class rum.

The audience was also treated to a presentation by José Eduardo Barbosa, President of Braztoa, the Brazil travel agent association. He shared in great detail much market intelligence on the Brazil outbound travel market as well as insightful suggestions on how local industry partners can prepare adequately for the arrival of the Brazilian travelers from June 2010.

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, delivered the feature address. He acknowledged that this was not the first time that Barbados had secured a direct service from Brazil and expressed the ministry’s commitment to making this a lasting success. “We are hopeful that with our combined efforts that Barbados can enjoy its fair share of the five million outbound Brazilian travelers, many of whom travel to the Caribbean.”

The service will operate weekly out of Sao Paulo on Saturdays, utilizing a 737 aircraft with 120 commercial seats. Flights will depart Sao Paulo at 4:30 p.m. to arrive in Barbados at 9:45 p.m. local time. The turnaround time will be approximately two hours before the flight returns to Brazil for arrival on Sundays at 7: 00 a.m. Sao Paulo time, which is one hour ahead.