14 May 2008
Dubai: South American nations are making concerted efforts to woo Middle Eastern visitors, telling people in the region to look beyond the traditional destinations of Asia and Europe.
Countries such as Arg-entina and Brazil are keen to attract more international visitors, and they see the affluent Gulf region as an important market to tap.
Though mindful of great travel distances and a lack of direct air connections with Middle Eastern cities, tourism promoters believe diverse attractions from the Amazon rainforests to the glaciers of Patagonia will appeal to the Gulf travellers.
"We cannot remove the geographical distance, but we can bring people closer in their minds. We want to say to people in the Middle East that we are not a separate planet, we are part of the planet, so come to Arg-entina," Hamurabi Nouf-ouri, adviser to Argentina's minister of tourism, told Gulf News.
He said travellers from the region "should think that the world is more than Asia and Europe." Argentina is targeting six million foreign tourists in 2008 and eight million in 2009.
Noufouri believes that the launch of a non-stop service between Dubai and Sao Paulo, Brazil, last year would bring Middle Eastern tourists to Argentina.
The Emirates flight has almost halved the time it once took to travel from the UAE to Brazil via a European airport.
Noufouri hopes a Gulf carrier will link Buenos Aires with the region in the near future.
Laercio Roberto Lemos De Souza, general coordinator for investment promotion in the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, said Brazil is not only looking for more Middle East tourists, but also Arab investors.
Potential market
Jutta Zenner, sales director of South American Tours, a company that promotes holiday packages for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, also sees a potential market in the Gulf.
"The response from tour operators was more than what I had expected. There is not only great demand but also great knowledge about South America in this region," she told the Arabian Travel Market, the region's largest tourism event.
Demand is seen for roundtrips combing more than one country, study trips, individual holidays and corporate incentive travel.
Tour operators like Zenner also believe that there is a taste for exotic and exclusive holidays.
Mexico in North America is also getting a lot of attention from potential travellers, especially those flying to places like Miami in the US.
"Distance is no longer an issue the way it used to be," said Jas Anand, Britain-based representative of Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau, which promotes the Mexican resort city of Cancun.
Anand said she was in Dubai to identify potential markets and increase brand awareness of the destination. "I met 20 tour operates who want to sell Mexican tours. I think people here have money and time, and they want to go somewhere different [than Asia and Europe]."
By Shakir Husain
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
