Full-year data for 2017 from Brazil’s second-largest tour operator show that Orlando is the overwhelming favorite among U.S. destinations for overseas travel by Brazilians. Two out of every five visitors who traveled to the U.S. via Flytour MMT Viagens last year visited Orlando. More than half visited either Orlando or Miami. And, all totaled, just over 60 percent of the company’s U.S-bound passengers traveled to destinations in Florida.
Flytour MMT Viagens is the product of the merger late last year of Flytours Viagens and MMTGapnet and is the second largest tour operator in Brazil, trailing only the giant CVC, whose combined tour operator and travel agent business make it the largest in the country, with a market capitalization of more than $7.5 billion.
What makes the numbers furnished to INBOUND by Flytour MMT Viagens of value is the fact that they are the only reliable numbers on the Brazilian market readily available. The U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office has suspended its monthly arrivals reports due to errors in the way information was gathered and tallied by other federal agencies; other available data are estimates or are based on survey samples. The Flytour MMT Viagens numbers are based on actual sales/bookings.
While we have no way of knowing for sure, one suspects that the percentage breakdown for outbound travel from Brazil is probably very much the same for CVC customers. And, anecdotally speaking, anytime one asks a receptive tour operator who sells to the Brazilian market about the matter, Orlando always comes up as the top destination favorite, with Florida on top among state destinations. Overall, according to the last NTTO report on the subject, Brazil is the Number 7 overseas source market for Visit USA traffic.
