Former Tourism Minister Vinicius Lummertz defended the creation of a “National Tourism Union” during the opening of the LIDE Tourism Seminar, held this Wednesday (10), in São Paulo. The meeting brought together businesspeople, sector executives and commercial aviation representatives to discuss challenges and opportunities for tourism in Brazil.
During his presentation, Lummertz stated that the country still makes little use of the segment’s economic potential, despite its natural competitive advantages.
According to him, global tourism is expected to generate around US$16 trillion in the coming years, representing more than 11% of the global economy and almost 500 million jobs.
“Tourism will grow precisely in the segments in which Brazil is a potential world leader: nature, adventure, experiences and cruises. There is no logical reason for the country not to grow in all of these markets,” he stated.
Why Brazilian tourism is growing below potential
During his presentation, Lummertz argued that projections for Brazilian tourism remain below the global average. According to him, while the sector advances in several international markets, Brazil is not following the same pace of growth, including in business tourism.
“Why are we going to grow less than the world if we have unique assets? The way we see tourism needs to evolve,” he declared.
The former minister also assessed that tourism still does not receive strategic treatment within national competitiveness policies. For him, the sector is usually associated only with leisure, although it has the potential to generate jobs, attract investment and boost regional development.
What is the role of connectivity for the sector
Another point highlighted by Lummertz was the importance of air connectivity to expand access to tourist destinations and strengthen local economies.
According to him, the expansion of air connections reduces distances and contributes to the development of different regions of the country.
“The city that today is 12 hours away by car can be an hour away when there is air connectivity. This is national competitiveness”, he stated.
Furthermore, the former minister cited obstacles that, according to him, hinder the expansion of Brazilian tourism. Among them are the bureaucracy for licensing projects, the lack of integration between transport modes and the absence of joint planning between the public sector and the private sector.
When mentioning international experiences, especially from China, Lummertz highlighted the importance of developing infrastructure, accessibility and tourism products in a coordinated way.
“Everything there is planned together. Road, natural park, tourist attraction and connectivity. In Brazil, we still work in a fragmented way”, he observed.
Proposal provides for coordination between different sectors
In one of the main moments of the presentation, the former minister defended a more integrated approach between the different segments that make up the tourism chain.
According to him, sectors such as hotels, aviation and cruises often operate in isolation, which reduces the ability to articulate around common agendas.
“Hospitality defends hospitality. Aviation defends aviation. Cruises defend cruises. When each one speaks only for their sector, we lose strength. The challenge is not to defend a segment. The challenge is to build a proposal for Brazil”, he stated.
National Tourism Union brings together main proposal
The main proposal presented by Lummertz was the creation of the so-called National Tourism Union.
The initiative would function as a permanent forum for coordination between airlines, airports, cruise operators, hotels, theme parks, tour operators, representative entities and members of public authorities.
Finally, the former minister declared that the objective would be to build structuring proposals for the sector and expand dialogue with the federal government before problems turn into crises.
“We therefore need a group that is the guardian of this message, which represents the entire chain and presents the country with a long-term project. Tourism has a lot to deliver to Brazil”, he concluded.
