Brazil on the World Stage
It is well-known that winning a bid to host any major sporting event is extremely fortuitous. The benefits of hosting an event such as the Olympic Games can energise a nation’s tourism, boost the economy, encourage greater social cohesion, and act as the country’s ultimate advertising campaign. But in order to reap these benefits the host nation has to work incredibly hard to ensure that the event runs smoothly.
Brazil’s infrastructure is undergoing dramatic changes in order to cater for the World Cup. These developments include major projects for the railways, buses, sea ports and airports. The majority of Brazil’s international airports are managed by ANAC and Infraero. The National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil), also known as ANAC, is the Brazilian civil aviation authority, created in 2006. It is responsible for regulating safety and security matters related to civil aircraft and its components, personnel licensing, operations and aerodromes.
“The responsibility of the agency is to monitor the activities in the airport and to rule the activities at the airport,” explains José Carlos Costa da Silva Rosa, COO of Dufry Brazil. “Whoever works in the airport depends on the regulations set by ANAC.” Supplementary to the agency there is a Brazilian government corporation, called Infraero (Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária), which was created in 1972 and acts as the airport operator: “They run 66 airports at the moment,” verifies Costa da Silva Rosa.
According to a report from Valor Economico, in August 2009 Infraero unveiled an ambitious BRL5.3 billion (€2.0 billion) investment plan to upgrade airports in ten cities, focusing mainly on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympics. The Dufry executive knows that such investment is imperative: “The country needs to invest in the airports. The country needs to invest in the infrastructure to develop tourism. Brazil is one of the biggest countries in the world and one of the countries with the least developed tourism.”
He also reveals that less than seven million people visited Brazil last year; a figure which is disappointing for travel-retail operators. “Brazil is rethinking itself in terms of image and in terms of service [provision] to tourists.”
But despite these major investments, in April 2011 it was reported (Valor online) that in order to accelerate much-needed renovation and upgrade works, private companies would be granted a concession to take some form of involvement in some Infraero airports. “ANAC published a tender for a new airport in Natal which is in the North East region of Brazil,” reveals Costa da Silva Rosa. “It will be privately built and privately run. ANAC have said that this tender can be the model to be used in future tenders.”
According to reports, Infraero would retain 49% of the shares of each privatised airport, which would allow partners to benefit from Infraero’s experience. “Infrarero has a long tradition in running airports; [it has] great experience [and] skilled individuals, so can offer a huge amount to airports. Even if the government eventually considers privatising all airports, Infraero can offer value to any operation,” explains Costa da Silva Rosa.
Whether the airports will be privately owned or not, what duty-free operators can look forward to is a massive increase in footfall in all major international airports leading up to the World Cup and the Olympics.
Constructive criticism
The experience of any international sporting event begins the moment you step onto foreign soil, so it is important that the standard of the airport itself meets or even exceeds expectation. Publications in Brazil such as Ol Globo have reported complaints about various Brazilian airports, and have called for improvements. Costa da Silva Rosa admits there are obstacles to overcome: “The thing is that there is a lot of bureaucracy in Brazil, everyone knows it, and that can interfere somehow in the speed of the process, but I believe that the government is already working on ways to eliminate some of that bureaucracy and to really start to invest.”
He is aware that, while the World Cup and Olympics provide opportunities for Brazil to improve the nation’s infrastructure and tourism, they will not be miracle cures for deep-rooted problems: “These [sporting] events are really the beginning of something and I believe everyone here in Brazil has understood that. They will not be an end in themselves. When you read the papers, you read people saying ‘there’s no money, there’s no will to improve the airports,’ but I don’t think this is true.”
Brazil has long held a negative reputation for gang violence in its major cities as well as a stark divide between poor and affluent communities, but Costa da Silva Rosa believes this reputation has been exaggerated and that it is likely to change after 2014: “Of course we have very big differences in social classes; you have very wealthy people and very poor people, but this is not just [the case in] Brazil. Brazil has a chance to show the world that the country is a safe place, a beautiful place where you can come and work and make money; a place where you can raise your kids. It’s a modern country. Maybe I’m
biased because I live here, but I just love it!”
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