In a meeting with the Chinese ambassador, Embratur announces the return of Brazil´s promotional activities in the Asian country

In a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Brazil, Zhu Qingqiao, this Wednesday (17), the president of Embratur, Marcelo Freixo, announced the resumption of a strategy to promote tourism for Brazilian destinations in the Asian country, which returns to the Agency's list of priorities. Among the planned actions is the study for participation in the next edition of the ITB China tourism fair, which will take place in May 2025. The meeting also defined the joint work of drafting terms for a tourism promotion partnership between the two countries.

“China is a strategic partner of Brazil in international trade and diplomacy, and is a member of BRICS. This partnership with the Chinese government is very strategic for Brazil, and will certainly have a positive impact on the flow of travelers between the two countries, with great cultural and commercial exchange, bringing our peoples even closer together. Brazil is a destination with great cultural and natural diversity, and is prepared to welcome Chinese tourists,” said Freixo.

The Chinese ambassador was in line with the idea of ​​closer ties between the countries, increased air connectivity and cultural exchange. “Relations between China and Brazil are important and convey to the Chinese the perception that Brazil is a friendly country, which makes us more interested in visiting the country,” he said during the meeting.

This year, the two countries celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations and 20 years since the creation of the Sino-Brazilian High-Level Commission for Consultation and Cooperation (Cosban).

In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Brazil in Brasília, ahead of his participation in the G20 leaders' meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The Chinese president's state visit will be in return for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's official visit to China in April 2023 and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin's official visit in June 2024 for the 7th Plenary Session of COSBAN in Beijing.

Air connectivity

Increasing the number of flights connecting Brazil to the world is also one of Embratur's strategies to reach the international market. With capacity for 293 passengers, the Air China flight between Beijing and Guarulhos (SP) was resumed at the end of April, after being interrupted in 2020. The route has a technical stopover in Madrid, Spain, and operates twice a week.

During the meeting, Embratur's Director of International Marketing, Business and Sustainability, Bruno Reis, suggested the International Tourism Acceleration Program (PATI) as an alternative to strengthen air connectivity.

The president of Embratur endorsed: “Our goal will always be to increase the number of foreign visitors coming to Brazil and air connectivity is an important path when we talk about the Chinese market”. “We already have PATI, which can facilitate partnerships with airlines and airports to increase the number of seats and flights that serve Chinese visitors. Increased air connectivity means more trade, more travel and more tourism”, reinforced Marcelo Freixo.

SmoothTravel Membership

In July, Embratur joined SmoothTravel, a platform aimed at tourism operators that mediates the marketing of tourism products and destinations in the Chinese market. Embratur is the first Destination Management Organization (DMO) in South America to join the platform, which is part of the strategy to promote partnerships between players in the tourism sector in Brazil and China.

To show the Brazilian trade how the Smooth Travel platform works and how to connect with the Chinese tourism trade, Embratur is holding a webinar on July 23, at 3:00 p.m. The Agency will also present “China Market Insight”, a publication that brings together the main information about the tourism market in the Asian country. With this data, operators, agents, associations and other market players will be able to outline strategies to sell Brazilian tourism products.

The preferences of Chinese tourists, the airline network, the most visited destinations and Brazil's main competitors are topics that will also be addressed in the webinar. The event will also feature the participation of Denis Doria Ribeiro, general manager for Brazil, Chile and Paraguay at Aviareps, who will show how the SmoothTravel platform works and how the Brazilian trade can adopt it.

Globaldata Study Globaldata,
a data analysis and consulting company based in England, estimates that by 2028 China will grow 300% in the number of international tourists, going from the current 67.4 million to 200 million. The Chinese are also the ones who spend the most on tourism. In 2023 alone, they spent US$ 196.5 billion on travel, an average of US$ 1,949.31 per person.

Tourists from the Asian country are exploring new destinations and Brazil is the most sought-after country in South America. From January to May 2024, 27,262 Chinese arrived in Brazil, 59.9% more than in the same period last year (10,915 people), according to the Embratur Data Portal.

Currently, the most popular destinations in the Chinese market are Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu, Manaus and São Paulo. With the SmoothTravel platform, it will be possible to diversify this offer and position Brazil as a destination with complete products.

For the tourism trade, the platform offers resources such as: access to the latest travel policies and industry insights in China; daily market updates; destination training; access to the annual outbound travel trends report (more focused on China); research on key consumer segments; roadshow support, among others.

Brazil-China Partnership

Since 2009, China has been Brazil's largest trading partner and one of the main sources of investment in Brazilian territory. In 2023, trade flows reached a record US$ 157.5 billion. Brazil and China established a Strategic Partnership in 1993, expanding the relationship to a Global Strategic Partnership in 2012. The countries will celebrate 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2024.

Source: Embratur.