June 5, 2014 
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In This Week's Issue:

Correction: In our story about the Latin Hotel Index, we incorrectly identified which brands are part of Riu Hotels & Resorts. Riu includes brands such as Club Hotel Riu and Hotel Riu, and saw its total number of rooms in Latin America decline by around 400.

 

Copa Countdown

As Brazil prepares for the World Cup, what travelers need to know

 

Part one of a two-part series.

 

Construction at Belo Horizonte's Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves
By Mark Holston
 

As the date draws near for the opening round of World Cup soccer games in 12 Brazilian cities, questions about the country's ability to successfully stage one of the world's most important sporting events remain unanswered and vexing. Will stadiums still in the final phases of construction or renovation be ready in time? Will citizen protests or other security threats disrupt the event? Will the country's fragile transportation infrastructure meet the increased demands or buckle under the strain? The drama surrounding preparations for the tourney has overshadowed the question of who will become the world's next f�tbol champion.

 

In recent years, overseas visitation to Brazil has increased steadily by 3% to 4%  percent annually to a current level of about 5.6 million tourists a year. The upcoming World Cup, which takes place between June 12 and July 13 will feature 64 matches in locales that range from Porto Alegre in Brazil's far south to Manaus in the heart of the Amazon. It will produce the largest up-tick in visitations in the country's history. In excess of 600,000 additional visitors, most of them soccer fans, will arrive during that month-long period and in the weeks leading up to the opening ceremonies.

Taxis at Rio de Janeiro's municipal Santos Dumont Airport

 

Doing Business During Copa

For decades, Brazil has been known for basically "shutting down" during its annual week-long Carnaval. Among the workforce, absenteeism is up and productivity down. Personal security suffers as large, celebratory crowds attract pickpockets and other criminal elements. The World Cup, or Copa Mundial, as it is known in Brazil, promises to produce many of the same situations.

 

"Anyone coming here to do business during the Copa would be crazy," is how one hotel executive explained the situation to LBT. Not only will transportation systems, including taxi service and subways, be stressed, but hotel rooms, if they can still be found, will come at a premium. Many hotels have already hiked their rates by 30%  or more. As the Copa approaches its final rounds in early July in Rio de Janeiro and other principal cities, expect to see prices of everything from inter-city airfares and restaurant meals to hotel rooms increase even more.

 

Next week, part two of this series will cover updates at S�o Paulo's main airport and more. 

 

Construction at Belo Horizonte's Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves by Mark Holston; Taxis at Rio de Janeiro's municipal Santos Dumont Airport by Mark Holston

 

News from our Partners
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Delta Raises Funds to Build a New School in Costa Rica: Money collected from Second annual Delta Pacific Run to help build new classroom, improve other infrastructure in Playa Hermosa's public schools

 

Delta Air Lines now official international airline of three Brazilian playhouses: Grupo Tom Brasil and HSBC Brasil in So Paulo and Vivo Rio in Rio de Janeiro; playhouses offer concert discounts for Delta SkyMiles members and anyone who has flown on the airline within the past 90 days

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World Cup Flight News

The FIFA World Cup will, in many ways, take over Brazil from Thursday, June 12 through Sunday, July 13. Airlines around the world have added flights to their schedules, both to and within Brazil. However, some reports have indicted that sales of World Cup-related flights have not been as strong as airlines predicted, and that airlines may cut flights because of this weak demand. Bloomberg reported that ticket prices for flights within Brazil to World Cup cities have fallen in recent weeks. 

 

Among the flight additions: 

  • LAN and TAM added around 300 additional international flights and more than 700 additional flights within Brazil during the weeks of the World Cup.
  • Aerolineas Argentinas will increase to four daily round-trip flights between Buenos Aires Aeroparque and Rio de Janeiro, June 9-July 31. (It normally flies three daily round-trips on the route.)
  • Aerolineas Argentinas will also increase to two daily Buenos Aires Ezeiza - Rio de Janeiro round-trips, June 9-July 31.
  • Aeromexico will begin its service between Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro on June 30, earlier than planned, with operations continuing at least through July 13.
  • Air Canada will increase to five daily round-trip flights between Toronto and Sao Paulo, June to July.
  • Avianca is increasing capacity on its flights between Bogota and Rio de Janeiro. June 10-July 17, it will use Airbus A330-200 aircraft on four of its seven weekly round-trips, instead of Airbus A319.
  • Uruguay-based BQB Airlines will operate between 10 and 14 weekly flights between Montevideo, Uruguay, and S�o Paulo Guarulhos airport during the World Cup. It will also operate several extra flights: two extra round-trip Montevideo - Porto Alegre flights on June 25, additional Montevideo to Rio de Janeiro flights on June 15 and July 13, additional Rio de Janeiro to Montevideo flights on June 16 and July 13 and one additional Montevideo - S�o Paulo Guarulhos round-trip on July 8/9 and July 9/10.
  • BQB will also connect Montevideo with several Brazilian cities during the World Cup only: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Natal, S�o Paulo Viracopos airport.
  • In addition, BQB will fly a round-trip flight between Santiago de Chile and Cuiaba, Brazil on June 14, and between Santiago de Chile and S�o Paulo Viracopos airport on June 23

 

World Cup Safety and Security Updates

Travel security company red24 is offering a security information package that includes daily email alerts about potential security incidents during the World Cup, access to a 24/7 crisis hotline should trouble arise, an in-depth analytical assessment of traveler safety and security risks and city-specific information. 

 

The United Kingdom has a special website to advise its citizens on travel to Brazil for the World Cup. The website, which is updated regularly, also has up-to-date safety, health and other tips that are useful to citizens of any nation. It is at gov.uk/government/news/world-cup-2014.


FIFA World Cup by mariyabutd 
 
Travel News

New Airline Routes and Route Changes

South America

On June 5, Brazilian carrier Azul began flying six weekly round-trip flights between two cities in Brazil's Minas Gerais state: its capital, Belo Horizonte, and Governador Valadares.

 

On July 14, Gol Transportes Aereos will begin flights between S�o Paulo Viracopos airport and Rio de Janeiro's Santos Dumont airport. It will fly six daily round-trips on the route.

 

Hotel News

Hoteles City Express opened City Express Paraiso in Dos Bocas, Tabasco, Mexico. The City Express is a limited-service, 108-room hotel. 

Azul Brazilian Airlines by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz via Wikimedia Commons
 
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