On Wednesday (13), the governor of Paraná, Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior, made a presentation of the full potential of Paraná’s tourism to Emirates Airlines executives, the largest airline in the United Arab Emirates, and one of the world’s leading airlines.
According to what was reported by our partner site AEROIN, the meeting took place in one of the company’s headquarters in Dubai and is part of the tour of the State Government delegation to promote Paraná in the Middle East, started last week, in a side agenda to the Expo Dubai 2020.
The intention, said Ratinho Junior, is to strengthen efforts to bring to Paraná a direct flight of the company. Emirates currently operates the São Paulo-Dubai route five times a week. Foz do Iguaçu being one of the most representative tourist poles of the country, is the main candidate.
«We want to strengthen tourism in Paraná. Foz is currently the second destination for foreign tourists in the country, with great growth possibilities. The city has received many investments, both public and private, and can be a logistical alternative for Emirates,» said the governor. «But in Curitiba, there is business and outdoor tourism in other cities of the state, all with wide attractions.»
He recalled that the Foz international airport, recently granted to the private sector, was reshaped precisely to receive direct international flights, an investment of R$ 69.4 million in a partnership between the Government of Paraná, Itaipu Binacional, and Infraero. «We have made a major investment in the facility. The airport now has the largest runway in the Southern Region and is able to receive flights from the United States, Europe, and Asia,» said Ratinho Junior.
With the concession, the Cataratas International Airport should have a new contribution, estimated at R$ 512.3 million. «Foz is one of the largest commercial centers in the world, with a large movement of foreigners, especially from Asia. The projection is that just one of our attractions, the Iguaçu Falls, will receive 5 million visitors a year in the very near future,» said Mayor Chico Brasileiro.
The scenario impacted Adnan Kazim, Head of the Emirates trade office. He said he did not know the state and the idea is to grow the conversation. «What I can say is wow! The impression was very good and we have a lot of information that we didn’t know before. But in the case of aviation, we will have to do a thorough study after this visit of the governor to Dubai. The visit came at the best time in our history because of the Expo, Parana’s visit was very timely,» he said.
«The meeting was very interesting. After seeing the material of Paraná, the numbers offered by the state, the Emirates representatives were delighted. We talked about Foz do Iguaçu, about Curitiba and we showed them that the largest Atlantic rainforest reserve in the country is in Paraná. Based on the good impressions, we have a good chance of having the first Emirates flight to Paraná as early as next year,» said Eduardo Bekin, CEO of Invest Paraná.
Logistics hub
Paraná is resuming the Voe Paraná regional aviation project and has public and private investments in several terminals. Four were awarded to the private sector (Afonso Pena, in São José dos Pinhais; Cataratas, in Foz do Iguaçu; Governador José Richa, in Londrina; and Bacacheri, in Curitiba), three were completely remodeled (Cascavel, Umuarama and Maringá) and works or improvement agreements are underway in Ponta Grossa, Siqueira Campos, Pato Branco, Cornélio Procópio, Arapongas, Paranavaí and Loanda.
