Airbnb is in line to perform strongly as a result of hotel supply issues around this summer’s 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, reveals exclusive new research released today (25 April) at WTM Vision Conference Sao Paulo. The session takes place on the final day of the leading global event for the Latin American travel industry, WTM Latin America.
The research, produced by Euromonitor International, says Brazil will welcome 1.6m international tourists to the event, with the country benefitting in the long run from the global exposure as well as the improvements to tourism infrastructure.
Peer-to-peer accommodation portal Airbnb is ideally positioned “to be the surprise winner as it picks up the overspill from hotels,” delegates at the event will hear today.
But headwinds facing Brazil this summer are also identified: security, capacity issues at airports and hotels in Rio specifically, as well as potential traffic congestion.
Furthermore, “visa difficulties, crowded planes, poor infrastructure and language difficulties” are holding back Brazil’s appeal as an inbound destination. Despite the size of the country it only attracts 7.4% of all international arrivals to Latin America. Mexico by comparison attracts nearly 30%.
Nonetheless, inbound tourism will grow over the next five years, with the growth from the business travel and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector keeping pace with leisure growth. This year, both sectors will grow by more than 14%.
Many local, regional and international travel businesses are interested in the Brazilian outbound market. However, the study shows that international travel is less of a priority for Brazilians than saving, and is equal in importance to discount shopping, buying new technology and local entertainment such as concerts, theatre or eating out. Worryingly for any travel companies, more Brazilians are planning to spend less on travel this year than are planning to increase their budget.
Spain, Portugal and France are the most popular European destinations, each attracting around 400,000 Brazilian visitors each year.
World Travel Market, Press & PR Manager, Paul Nelson – who will introduce the WTM Vision Conference – said: “It is clear that Brazil has worked hard to overcome the challenges around hosting the FIFA World Cup, and the long -term benefits of an enhanced tourism infrastructure are a worthwhile legacy.
“The increase in business travel, driven by a growing domestic economy, is also a positive sign for the overall visitor economy.”
WTM Vision Conference – São Paulo is the second in a series of six WTM Vision Conferences taking place across the globe this spring. The first was in Moscow on 9 April, and the third will be in Cape Town on 2 May. The fourth in the series is Dubai on 6 May, and the fifth takes place in Shanghai on 8 May, with the series being complete in Rimini on 9 October.
All conference delegates receive a copy of the exclusive Euromonitor International Report free of charge (worth £1,000).
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
More than 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, now in its 35th year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM 2013 generated more than £2 billion of travel industry contracts, revealed independent research by Fusion Communications.
WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a other portfolio’s of travel industry events including IBTM Events, the world’s leading showcases for the meetings and events industry and International Luxury Travel Market events.
In 2013, RE held more than 500 events in 40 countries bringing together more than six million people from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 21 international events in 14 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.
Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf, ski and spa travel.
RTE is part of Reed Exhibitions.