Brazil is set to open its first luxury train route in the south of the county in April, 2008. The Great Brazil Express will run throughout the state of Parana for approximately 500 kilometers. It will link the cities of Ponta Grossa and Cascavel, traveling through cities and countryside of this diverse Brazilian state.
This line will help to target a profitable and growing luxury tourism sector; luxury trains have long been an important niche in this market in Europe and the United States. Brazil’s tourism minister recently helped to inaugurate the line in the southern state of Parana. We are now taking an important step for the luxury tourism sector in Brazil,” said Marta Suplicy, the tourism minister, at a ceremony in Morretes, on the coast of the state.
“While the global annual rate of growth of tourism is 6.2% a year, in the luxury tourism sector, this level is over 10%,” said the minister. This trend bodes well for countries and businesses that cater to the high end tourist, such as the new Great Brazil Express.
While she was at the inauguration of the Great Brazil Express, the minister announced an additional investment of 9.1 million Brazilian reais in the expansion and improvement of the tourist-related infrastructure in Morretes. Additional work scheduled inlcudes the construction of bicycle lanes and a bypass to alleviate the traffic in the central region of the city.
The Great Brazil Express will travel at an average rate of 40 kph. It is expected that approximately 2,100 foreign tourists will ride on the train throughout the year. Passengers will get to enjoy the comfort of leather seats, carpets, televisions, music and a bar. While traveling, they will also get to see stretches that cut through Brazilian pine forests and soy plantations, and additional scenery and landscapes of Paraná. Additional trips and routes will also be available in the future.
