EURObiCon » Tourism Europe

Buying Property in Brazil

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:13:36 +0000

By: Paul Stubbs

Property in Brazil has been for some time now a sound financial investment and this is set to continue long into the future, availability and low costs are the main driving factors but by no

means the only reasons for investing in Brazilian property currently undervalued. Another great reason is the emerging economy widely tipped to become one of the

global giants in the next thirty to forty years.

With a population of over180 million (although considering the vast area that is Brazil it’s by no means overpopulated) the potential is huge for economic expansion so

all sorts of business opportunities are presenting themselves, of course tourism will continue to thrive with tropical temperatures and over 7000 kms of beaches, the

appeal is obvious. Property development is another area worthy of exploration; with more airlines coming on board and tourism reportedly rising more than two

hundred percent it’s a fairly safe bet to get into the buy to let market.

Of course, Brazil is most famous for its football many of the world’s finest footballers have come from Brazil and of course they have won the world cup more than

anyone else: There is however much more to Brazil than this with the largest rainforest in the world, a wealth of caves and canyons and the Atlantic forest running for

most of the Brazilian coast.

Rio Carnival is the biggest and most famous party in the world, it is covered by the worlds press and attracts millions of partygoers it should be on the must do list of

everyone its colourful vibrant samba rhythm is as contagious as the rich lifestyle.

Brazil is also experiencing an industrial revolution, with their bio fuel technologies this is further bolstering the economy and in turn the investment property sector.

Europeans are being attracted to Brazil for its low living costs and are likely to have won the property lottery if growth continues in its current form.

Brazilian property laws are very foreigner friendly the land is owned in perpetuity IE you own all water and mineral rights.

From £50,000 you can have a beach apartment and this will rapidly appreciate when the global market recovers and Brazil takes its place among the economic giants

where it is surely destined to be.

Agriculture is also to be considered there are richly fertile lands in certain areas of Brazil and with rising food costs and the possibility of large scale agriculture it should

something to be considered by the farming community in Europe.

The options are there for all to see with political stability, tourism, and the influx of European retirees and investors alike Brazil is very likely to become one of the http://www.buy-to-let-overseas-property.co.uk”>overseas property hotspots.

Prepare for Holy Week in Mexico

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:23:23 +0000

By: Erick Laseca

Planning for Holy Week starts with months of anticipation and festivities including passion plays, fervent processions and altar displays taking place all over the country.

Since the mass conversion of the indigenous peoples to Catholicism in the 16th century, Semana Santa (Holy Week) – a reverent observance of the last days of Jesus, and Pascua – a celebration of the resurrection – have become the most important religious holidays in Mexico next to Christmas. As with most Mexican celebrations, Semana Santa combines the country’s strong Spanish heritage with elements of its prehispanic past. For generations, pilgrims and tourists alike have journeyed to Mexico to witness the festive yet reverent Semana Santa.

The solemn festivities usually begin on Palm Sunday, commemorating the day that Jesus arrived to Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion. As the biblical passage goes, palm branches and clothing were spread in his path, and today, reenactments often include these elements. Holy Thursday commemorates the day of the Last Supper, marked by nationwide visits to seven temples, designated churches in each town or city. Good Friday marks the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross, with most Christians fasting on this day and reenactments of the crucifixion taking place all over the country. Easter Sunday is a day for celebration, commemorating the day of Jesus’ resurrection, featuring music, dance and cultural activities.

In addition to special mass ceremonies, an important and ubiquitous element of Semana Santa is the Passion Play, a dramatic reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. The Passion Play was brought over to Mexico by Christian missionaries from Europe at a time when it and other religious plays were a widespread vital element of European culture. The play not only survived in Mexico but was incorporated into the local dramatic rituals already an innate part of the local culture. In Mexico, brilliant Aztec colors are noticeable throughout, and ancient dances are often performed alongside Christian rituals.

Most of the celebrations involve solemn processions, plays or reenactments of biblical scenes; others incorporate unusual elements into their festivities such as prehispanic dances and exploding Judases. Thousands travel to popular destinations to enjoy the outdoors and take part in the festivities.

Creel, Chihuahua: The mountainous indigenous community of Creel in northern Mexico, is a popular destination for a Holy Week. Aside from enjoying the myriad of ecotourism activities in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains, the Tarahumara Indians, one of the few remaining indigenous groups in the country, paint themselves white for Holy Week and host a special series of celebrations including dance and music dating back centuries, fusing prehispanic tradition with Catholicism.

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato: The colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico comes alive during Holy Week. By Palm Sunday, the city overflows with visitors as well as indigenous women selling flowers, palm crosses and religious articles outside the Parroquia with the Gothic cathedral bearing tall spires as the focal point of the city.

The city’s unending pageantry of plays and processions on Good Friday are unparalleled. Children dressed in biblical costumes and men dressed as Roman centurions ride on horseback through the winding cobblestone streets while life-size statues of the Virgin Mary, the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and John the Baptist are carried through the city.

Taxco, Guerrero: The picturesque silver mining town of Taxco is also a popular Holy Week destination, given its proximity to Mexico City. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of many processions which begin in nearby villages. In commemoration of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, an image of Jesus is mounted on the back of a donkey. As the donkey journeys to Taxco, palm fronds and flowers are laid on the ground.

On the night of Holy Thursday, candle-bearing penitents walk in procession to the baroque Church of Santa Prisca. A reenactment of the Last Supper is performed. The Resurrection play, staged around nine o’clock on Saturday morning, is an awe-inspiring site to behold. A final and joyful procession takes place on Easter Sunday.

San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi: The colonial city of San Luis Potosi, located 257 miles north of Mexico City, will celebrate its fifty-second Procession of Silence this year, one of the most important Catholic manifestations in the country. With the participation of more than 2,000 Potosinos, the solemn procession will begin at the Templo de Santo Domingo at eight o’clock in the evening on Good Friday and will make its way through the downtown historic area.

Similar to the ceremony in Sevilla, Spain, penitents don hoods as they walk silently through the streets, carrying torches and holy images. During Holy Week, San Luis Potosi features more than 90 events, including concerts, a national food festival, and a tennis tournament, now on its fiftieth year.

Ixtapalapa, Mexico City: Few would guess that a small district just south of downtown Mexico City would be in the international spotlight during Semana Santa. More than a million people gather in Ixtapalapa every year to witness an entire town convert into a great stage to present a passion play that has been reenacted annually for 150 years. Months prior to Semana Santa, the town comes alive with preparations for the most important event of the year, incorporating each member of the community. While there is a part for everyone, actors are carefully chosen, with the most important parts such as Jesus and the Virgin Mary being the greatest honor. The actor who plays Jesus in particular must meet certain requirements such as height, weight and physical condition. The part is as physically demanding as it is emotionally challenging, since the reenactment requires the actor to carry a 200-pound cross through the town, after receiving an actual whipping.

Michoacan State: Starting with Palm Sunday, performances representing biblical passages take place throughout the state. In San Lorenzo, a small town in the Purepecha area, about 200 miles west of Mexico City, the celebration takes a special twist, with young people carrying six-foot tall palm leaves to church.

Holy Wednesday in the town of Tlalpujahua involves a procession in which huge images of Jesus Christ from the XVI and XVIII century grab the eyes of the spectators. Good Friday in Patzcuaro and Morelia include silent processions for the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ. Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, is the last day of celebration. In Tarimbaro, el carnaval chiquito (the small carnival) takes place during which people dance in the streets while Judas figurines explode like fireworks.

About the Mexico Tourism Board

The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) brings together the resources of federal and state governments, municipalities and private companies to promote Mexico’s tourism attractions and destinations internationally. Created in 1999, the MTB is Mexico’s tourism promotion agency, and its participants include members of both the private and public sectors. The MTB has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

# # #

Erick Laseca

Mexico Tourism Board

312-228-0517 ext14

erick.laseca@bm.com

www.visitmexicopress.com

Obesity Surgery in India Now With Easy Medical Access

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:13:03 +0000

By: julia

Most common medical treatments in India are obesity surgery, heart surgery, knee transplant, hip surgery/replacement, oncology, cosmetic surgery and dental care. Medical tourism in India is an innovative concept whereby people from world over visit here for their medical and relaxation needs. India ’s excellence in the field of modern medicine as well as ancient methods of physical and spiritual well being make it the most favorable destination for good health and quest for peaceful living. It has some of the best hospitals and medical treatment centers in the world equipped with the medical facilities at par with those in USA, UK and Europe. Our doctors are considered to be the best in the world. In fact,1/6 th of the doctors in USA are of Indian origin Since it is also a country of fascinating cultures and beautiful places, it is also one of the most favorable tourist destinations in the world. Medication combined with tourism has become a natural choice. Obesity surgery in India has seen a phenomenal growth during recent past.

Obesity surgery is an operation that reduces or bypasses the stomach or small intestine so that severely overweight people can achieve significant and permanent weight loss. Obesity surgery is performed only on severely overweight people who are more than twice their ideal weight. This level of obesity often is referred to as morbid obesity since it can result in many serious, and potentially deadly, health problems, including hypertension.

There are a number of widely accepted criteria that make a patient suitable for weight loss surgery:

Weight greater than 45kg above the ideal body weight for sex, and height.

BMI > 40 by itself or >35 if there is an

Associated obesity illness, such as diabetes or sleep apnea

Reasonable attempts at other weight loss techniques

Age 18-65

Obesity related health problems

No psychiatric or drug dependency problems

A capacity to understand the risks and commitment associated with the surgery.

Pregnancy not anticipated in the first two years following surgery

India has a group of professional medical services facilitation managers who are associated with best super specialty hospitals in India with international accreditation like Joint Commission International (JCI), USA. This is the gold standard in global healthcare standards. Medical tourism can be broadly defined as provision of cost-effective private medical care in collaboration with the tourism industry for patients needing surgical and other forms of specialized treatment like obesity surgery in India.

To know more about affordable obesity surgeries in India:

http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com

Submit your case details at:

enquiry@forerunnershealthcare.com

travel and tourism industry

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:03:51 +0000

By: Neha Ashani

Tourists

The origin of the word “tourist” date back to 1292 AD. It has come from the word ‘tour’. A number of experts have defined the term:

“Tourists are the voluntary temporary travelers, traveling in the expectations of pleasure from the novelty and change experienced on a relatively and non-current round-trip”.

“Tourist is a person who makes a journey for the sake of curiosity for the fun of traveling”.

Tourists are:

-Persons traveling for pleasure, health and domestic reason.

-Persons arriving in the sea of sea cruise.

-Persons traveling for convention.

Tourism – the first commercial venture.

A religious Englishman called Thomas Cook in 1841 arranged, for a fee, a one –day rail excursion from Leicester to Loughborough for 540 members of a temperance league. Thus the first bona fide travel agent was Thomas Cook.

While Cook himself did not make a profit on this first venture, he was a man of vision and was convinced that there was a need for a skilled “travel arranger”. So by 1845 he had become the first full-time travel agent, operating train excursions from Leicester. The next year he chartered a train and steamer for an excursion to Scotland for 330 people. In 1851 Cook arranged ocean steamship travel and accommodations for more than 1,50,000 visitors to the World Exposition in London and in 1856 he operated the first escorted “grand tour” of Europe. Tours to Europe and Middle East were also conducted and, in 1872, the first around the world tour was conducted.

Tourism as a Service Industry

Tourism as a service industry comprises of several allied activities which together produce the tourism product. Involved in the tourism product are three major sub-industries. They are: -

1. Tour operators and travel agents.

2. Accommodation sector (hoteling and catering) and

3. Passenger accommodation.

According to international estimates, a tourist spends 35% of his total expenditure on transportation, about 40% on lodging and food and the balance 25% on entertainment, shopping and incidentals.

The product in this case is not confirmed to travel and accommodation but includes a large array of auxiliary services ranging from insurance and entertainment and shopping, demand generation, in addition to the consumer motivation, is also heavily dependent upon powerful persuasive communication both at the macro (country) level and the micro (enterprise) level. The participants in the process of this service business can be illustrated by the figure below.

Some of the pointers to nature of tourism as a Service Industry

1. Tourism accounts for nearly 6% of world trade.

2. Bulk of tourism business is located in Europe and North America., with 1/8 of the market being shared between the other regions.

3. The highest growth rate in tourism in recent years has been in the third world.

4. Tourism, like most pure services, because of the character of inseparability, exemplifies a product, which cannot be sampled before purchase; the prospective consumers have to travel to a foreign destination in order to consume the product.

5. The major players in the tourism market include a number of intermediary companies. Some of them transnational in character, some of them exhibit

vertical integration, both backward and forward, acquiring interests in all major sectors of this service industry.

The Tourism Product- Factors Governing Demand.

Because of the unique nature of the nature of tourism product- it being an amalgam of the characteristics of a destination and the infrastructural as well as managerial efforts of the promoter, the determinants of tourists demand emanate from both individual tourist motivations and the economic, social, technological factors. Some of these are:

• Income Levels

In the last 30 years, disposable incomes around the world have shown upward trends, thus allowing more money for activities like leisure travel. Smaller families have meant higher allocations per person in the family. More and more women are entering the workforce and in real terms the cost of travel has fallen. The dramatic rise of tourism in the last 50 years can be attributed in a large measure to the combined effect of more leisure time and rise in both real and disposable incomes.

• More Leisure time:

Increasing unionization of labour right from 1930 onwards has reduced the number of working hours per week. Changing managerial orientations towards human resources have increased the levels of pay and paid vacation time in most developed countries. Now people have longer periods of leisure, which could be allocated to travel.

• Mobility

Better transportation and communication services have made the world a smaller place, and have brought both exposure and awareness of distant lands to larger sections of potential tourists across the world. Faster modes of transport have cut down on travel time, making it easier for people to economically plan and execute trips abroad.

• Growth in Government Security Programmes and Employment Benefits:

The growth in government security programmes and well entrenched policies of employee benefits mean that quite a large number of families may have long term financial security and may be more willing to spend money for vacations.

Tourist Classification:-

Tourists can be classified into the following seven demand categories:-

1. Explorer: – Very limited in number, these tourists are looking for discovery and involvement with local people.

2. Elite: – People who favour special, individually trips to exotic places.

3. Offbeat: – These are filled with a desire to get away from the usual humdrum life.

4. Unusual: – Visitors who are looking forward to trips with peculiar objectives such as physical danger or isolation.

5. Incipient mass: – A steady flow, traveling alone or in small-organized groups using some shared services.

6. Mass: – The general packaged tour market, leading to tourist enclaves abroad.

7. Charter: – Mass travel to relaxation destinations, which incorporate as many as standardized, developed world facilities as possible.

The Travel Decision:-

The average tourist is faced with considerable uncertainty regarding the decision and may have only scanty ideas about distant destinations. His evaluation of alternatives is also limited to the extent of this awareness about possible destinations. The stages of travel decision can be described as: -

1. Travel Desire:-

The first step where the need to travel is felt and the pros and cons are thought about.

2. Information Collection and Evaluation:-

This stage involves the process of finding out the trip from travel agents, books and acquaintances .information so collected is evaluated against criteria of cost and time constraints, alternative possibilities, relative attractiveness of destinations, perceived ‘safety’ o the alternative destinations etc.

3. Travel Decision:-

This is the decision phase involving selection of destination, travel, mode of accommodation and activities to be undertaken.

4. Travel Preparation and Experience:-

This involves tickets, bookings, travel, money and documents arrangement, clothing and undertaking of the travel.

5. Travel Satisfaction Evaluation:-

The whole tourism expenditure is constantly evaluated before, during and after the experience is used to influence future decisions.

The marketing concept for the travel and tourism industry is profit driven and customer centric (unlike sales which are volume driven and target centric).

Service Marketing Triangle

Service marketing is unique in many ways in the travel and tourism industry. There are 3 players in the transaction process:-

- Company: A travel and tourism company listens to the customers and evolves/develops the travel/tour package and it communicates the attractiveness and the utility of that very tour package directly to the customers. Here it (the company) performs external marketing. The company makes promises to the customers.

- Providers: They are a travel company’s internal customers constituting employees and agents. The company does internal marketing with the providers educating and motivating them about the idea of the particular tour package which they can offer to their customers. This is done to enable the providers to effectively carry out the service transaction process. The providers make provisions for office space, accessibility and connectivity. The company enables promises to be kept by this infrastructural association.

- Customers (Travelers): The customers are the reasons that the travel company exists and for whom the company has designed the traveling and touring package as well as set up the infrastructural facilities and spent money on employee development programmes. Here the providers are the only ones who interact with the customers, like the travel agents interact with the customers and not the company. The agents perform interactive marketing which is on-time, all-time, every-time. This is the most crucial aspect of service marketing in the travel and tourism sector. Those agents have the responsibility of ‘keeping promises’ made and enabled by the company. The providers (agents) are responsible for the perceived quality level of the service transaction. This underlines the uniqueness of service marketing.

Tourism Products:

1. Accommodation

• Hotels

• Motels

• Boatels

• Flotels

2. Destination

• Natural Scenes

• Historic Excellence

• Artificial Beauties

• Social Cultural Excellence

3. Transportation

• Infrastructural

i. Airways

ii. Railways

iii. Roadways

iv. Waterways

• Local

i. Local transport

4. Tour operators

• Travel companies

• Travel agents

• Guides

5. Shopping

• Handicrafts

• Handloom

• Books

Marketing mix for tourism product:

The designing of the marketing mix variables in case of tourism is significant as it helps the marketer in conceiving the right ideas, particularly to raise the acceptability of the tourist product by stimulating and penetrating the demand. Framing of a proper marketing mix is significant because it helps the tourist organization in accomplishing the objective and projecting a fair image.

Product Mix:

Tourism is a composite product with components like attraction facilities and transportation. Attraction deserves an intensive care. It includes natural site, places of historic interest, events and cultural attraction.

The facilities compliment attraction. The facilities include accommodation, food, transportation and recreational facilities. The transportation component includes the vehicles and infrastructure. Innovation in the tourism product helps raising the sensitivity. The users of the service are looking forward to better and improved product.

The provider of the tourist is a travel agent or the package tour. A well conceived and designed package tour, covering a wide range of tourist attraction at an economic price, helps in attracting the potential tourist.

The travel agent performs numerous activities such as hotel arrangement and accommodation, site seeing arrangement, domestic transport arrangement, air travel arrangement etc.

In a true sense the tour agents and the travel agents are the vehicles who can give a fillip to the tourism industry, provided they are well trained.

Pricing:

Pricing of the tourist product is complex. Geographical location of the destination, seasonality and varying demand affects the pricing decision.

In India the pricing strategies become important for promoting or contracting the tourism industry, since more than 40% of the total population are below the poverty line. In order to develop the tourism industry more and more potential users are to be transformed into actual users.

When a tourist proposes to visit a particular place, the total cost of his traveling also include the expenses incurred on transportation, accommodation and communication.

Liberal pricing strategy is found to be a productive pricing decision, particularly in case of tourism industry. The pricing strategy which includes low income group people, student and retired persons can be more effective. This is possible if the government concessional and subsidized infrastructural facilities to the potential tourist below the average income.

The different pricing methods generally used are cost based pricing, demand based pricing and competition based pricing.

Promotions:

The promotion mix includes advertising, publicity, sales support and public relations.

The purpose of promotion is to make available the information to the user. Advertising the sales promotion can be effective when supplemented by publicity and personal selling.

Radio, TV, newspapers, cinema and printings are some of the important vehicles for traveling of messages. Effective slogans raises the effectiveness of advertisement.

Another important component of the promotion mix is public relation. It helps in projecting the image of an organization. Public relation and publicity include regular articles and photographs of tour attraction, use of TV and travel journalists to promote editorial comment.

Public relation officer plays an important role. He should be efficient, active, impressive, intelligent and well-behaved.

Good image projection can be made if the PRO manages the affair like a professional. It is said that word of mouth is the best form of publicity. The word of mouth promotion is an important tool in tourism marketing.

Place:

The tourist centers should be located at suitable points if the tourists spots are natural there is no question of selection. In a vast country like India with a divergent socioeconomic and cultural patterns, the promotion of domestic tourism encourages unity in diversity.

Infrastructural facilities, transport and communication are important for development of tourist centres. The site selected should have natural surroundings, increased accessibility and improved amenities. At the same time it is also important that the ecological balance is not disturbed. Since growing ecological imbalances leads to pollution, some important steps like promoting afforestation, promotion and beautification may be undertaken in countering the side effects of atmospheric pollution and maintaining ecological balance.

Dental Implants Surgery India – " Ultimate Saving "

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:09:37 +0000

By: sanit bahri

In the recent years India has developed the world class medical facilities for dental implants surgery in India. Today, India is getting international patients from all over the world looking for low cost dental implants surgery. India has a vast resource of best dental professionals for low cost dental implants surgery in India. Dentistry costs are expensive in the US and Europe, but dental implants in India can be done at a fraction of the cost. Dental implants surgery in India is therefore an attractive proposition. Patients can travel to India have their treatments done and then enjoy a free holiday and maybe even have funds left over. Dental tourism India has emerged due to lower international travel costs than ever before and the fact that dental treatment is so expensive in many countries. Unlike other medical tourism treatments such as heart surgery, recovery from the dentist is quick, which means patients can enjoy their holiday to the full. Patients now having dental treatments carried out in India are increasing due to high quality service and low prices.

Dental implant is an artificial tooth root that an Oral Implantologist places into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge. Dental implants are an ideal option for people in good general oral health who have lost a tooth or teeth due to periodontal disease, failure of endodontics, an injury, or some other reason. Dental implants are actually more tooth saving than traditional bridgework, since implants do not rely on neighboring teeth for support. Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth! Since dental implants integrate into the structure of your bone, they prevent the bone loss and gum recession that often accompany bridgework and dentures. No one will ever know that you have a replacement tooth. Dental implants don’t sacrifice the quality of your adjacent teeth like a bridge does because neighboring teeth are not altered to support the implant. More of your own teeth are left untouched, a significant long-term benefit to your oral health. Dental implants will allow you to once again speak and eat with comfort and confidence! They’ll allow you to say goodbye to worries about displaced dentures and messy denture adhesives. The ideal candidate for a dental implant is in good general and oral health. Adequate bone in your jaw is needed to support the implant, and the best candidates have healthy gum tissues that are free of periodontal disease.

Due to the currency difference India has become a hub for dental implants surgery. Every year thousands of international patients travel for low cost dental implants surgery in India with the best medical facilities in India. India offers the best medical facilities with the best medical treatment for low cost dental implants surgery. India has one of the best qualified professionals in each and every field, and this fact has now been realized the world over. Regarding Medical Facilities India has the most competent doctors and world class Medical Facilities. With most competitive charges for treatment, India is a very lucrative destination for people wanting to undergo treatment of certain medical problems who do not need immediate emergency treatment. India offers World Class Medical Facilities, comparable with any of the western countries. India has state of the art Hospitals and the best qualified doctors. With the best infrastructure, the best possible Medical facilities, accompanied with the most competitive prices, you can get the treatment done in India at the lowest charges. A patient will come to India where he will undergo medical treatment and along with that he can visit any Indian tourist destinations, as and when advised by the Doctors.

To know more about Dental tourism India or Dental implants surgery India visit www.indianhealthguru.com or email to contact@indianhealthguru.com