Last month the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association and the TCI Tourist Board joined forces to promote the Turks and Caicos Islands in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Representatives from the two leading TCI tourism organisations attended the 39th annual Brazilian Congress of Travel Agencies and Fair of the Americas, also known as ABAV, with the objective of securing business opportunities, forging alliances and promoting the islands to this emerging market.
On return to TCI, TCHTA’s AE Stacy Cox noted, “ABAV is the largest travel trade fair of its kind in South America and we were afforded the opportunity to network with some of the big players in the industry like CVC Tours out of Brazil. We estimated that over 24,000 persons were in attendance, with 8,000 being exhibitors.”
Mrs. Cox added, “We also met with representatives from TREND, a publication company that is now transitioning into leisure travel due to the number of Brazilians who are travelling. Our goal in the future is to market and promote the destination and our hotels in the publication in order to generate more business from the South American market.”
The Brazilian market in particular, which has grown over the last 10 years, now has more disposable income and there is an interest to learn more about and to travel to destinations like Turks and Caicos Islands. During ABAV, TCHTA and TCI Tourist Board also held meetings with GOL Airlines and COPA Airlines, top South American airlines, will the hope of creating partnerships with the airlines once the demand increases.
