José Augusto Lara, Secretary of Tourism for the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul, was at Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa to promote the tourist offer in the region.
An intense cultural mix resulting from the Portuguese, German, Italian and Spanish colonization originate an environment which is very different from the rest of Brazil, marked by its architecture, gastronomy and festivities which have many common traces with Europe and, more specifically, with Portugal.
Rio Grande do Sul is able to offer to the tourist great landscape diversity: beaches, cosmopolitan cities, such as Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Florianopolis, spaces for events and congresses, mountain and nature and cultural circuits filled with historical richness and UNESCO World Heritage.
With special importance to world tourism, it is possible to do circuit of the Jesuit missions, with rich vestiges of its presence in the region. Starting from Rio Grande do Sul it is possible to do the circuit of the missions, getting to know, in a few days, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, all in the visitor’s reach in less than 500 Kms.
Nowadays, TAP Air Portugal has an agreement with Varig and VASP, for the connections between Săo Paulo and the cities in the south, like Porto Alegre, with a connection of about two hours.
The main aim of José Augusto Lara is to be able to make Rio Grande do Sul the third tourist destination in Brazil, promoting the region worldwide with special focus on the Jesuit Missions Circuit, which may figure, in world tourism, in the same group as the Maya World and the Silk Route, among others. |
