‘Brics’ Nations Lie at the Heart of the 21st Century Tourism Explosion

Cheap holidays in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are a growing part of the international travel sector.

The so-called “Brics” countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are talked about a lot by economists, politicians and journalists alike, with most in agreement that these are the big emerging economies of the next century. The tourism sector couldn’t agree more, if the forthcoming World Travel Market in London this month is anything to go by.

Cheap holidays in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have been increasingly popular over the past few years, fuelled by a greater number of air routes to these long-haul destinations, and with interest buoyed up by such events as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 tournament.

To mark this, industry experts will be discussing their thoughts and views on the implications of the Brics “tourism explosion” for the next decade in travel at a special WTM forum on 9 November.

BBC World Service journalist and presenter of its news and current affairs programme HARDtalk Stephen Sackur will be chairing the session, which will also be attended by various representatives of the government and tourist industries of all five Brics nations.

Speaking ahead of the event, WTM chairwoman Fiona Jeffery said that the five countries represent great opportunities for the travel industry across the world and could also help the global economy to bounce back from its current difficulties.

“Given sound political decisions and some good luck, the Brics economies together could become larger than those of the world’s six most developed countries in less than 40 years,” she declared.

The WTM 2011 conference will take place at the ExCeL centre in London’s Docklands between 7 and 10 November, and will feature a whole host of discussions, presentations and promotions for cheap holidays and travel opportunities throughout the world.