Abu Dhabi is to send a senior delegation to the 9th Global Travel and Tourism Summit to be held in May this year in Florianopolis - the capital of Southern Brazil’s Santa Catarina State - one of country’s largest states.
The news came from HE Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) as he welcomed a 20-strong Santa Catarina State delegation to the UAE capital city, Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Sultan said the summit - themed �Real Partnerships Emerging Economies: Sign of Change’ - epitomised today’s tourism imperative of sharing knowledge and ideas to sustain the industry in challenging times.
"Under the direction of our leadership we are looking to enhance relationships with like-minded destinations," he said. "In Santa Caterina we have a partner with whom we can share our experience of celebrating culture." Santa Caterina made cultural headlines when it negotiated the opening of the only Bolshoi Ballet institution outside of Russia. Abu Dhabi likewise captured global attention when it unveiled its plans for the world’s largest single concentration of premier cultural institutions, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum and Louvre Abu Dhabi, to be based on its signature Saadiyat Island destination.
"The Santa Caterina relationship is also pertinent as it sits firmly in the rapidly developing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economic bloc which Abu Dhabi, given its central geographic location between these emerging giants, is well placed to serve and benefit from," added Sheikh Sultan.
Luiz Henrique Da Silveira, Governor of Santa Catarina, who led the delegation, said the two destinations were bound by significant synergy. Santa Caterina, he said, had been acknowledged as the most socially developed and safe destination in Brazil - much as Abu Dhabi has been recognised by an international study as the safest city in the Middle East.
"We also share a commitment to the progression of cultural assets and sustainable development. Our state capital, as with Abu Dhabi, is an island city and over a third of our land is given over to nature reserves. This synergy gives us a basis from which to transfer knowledge and experience for our mutual advancement," he said.
Sheikh Sultan briefed the delegation on the signature projects being progressed by ADTA’s tourism asset development arm, Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). These included the recently-opened Desert Islands Resort and Spa on Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi’s Al Gharbia western province, the Qasr Al Sarab desert resort being built in the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) and Saadiyat Island - where the first flagship project, the opening of the eco-conscious Saadiyat Beach Golf Course designed by Gary Player is due to open in the latter part of this year.
The Brazilian delegation also included Raul Campos Castro, Brazilian Ambassador to the UAE and Jean-Claude Baumgartem, President of the World Travel and Tourism Council, as well as state ministers and senators and the President of the Brazilian Tourism Board, Jeanine Pires.
