• In September, Portuguese Group Vila Gale opened its resort in Touros (north of Natal) with 514 rooms
  (https://vilagale.com/br/hoteis/rio-grande-do-norte/vila-gale-touros).
• Investments were also announced by America’s Hard Rock Hotel Group, which plans to build two hotels, one in Sao Paulo (250 units) and one in Extremoz, RN 30 km from Natal (500 units). 
• Another dozen projects with building permits are in the pipeline. According to the Brazilian Hotel Management Forum, the hotel sector in Brazil could grow by 13% by 2022.

SAHIC - September, 2018

The 10th edition of the South American Hotel Investment Conference (SAHIC) in September 2018 highlighted the region’s growing reputation as a tourist destination. The Eco Estrela project confirms this tendency and is set to strengthen it in coming years. Tourist arrivals to Latin America are growing 3.5 times faster than in North America and almost twice as fast as in the Caribbean. http://www.sahic.com/ south-america/en/home/

New airline connections with Natal Airport
(state of Rio Grande do Norte)

The number of flights from Buenos Aires to Natal is increasing.

•  Andes Lineas Aereas will launch 20 consecutive charter flights between January and March 2019.
•  From November 2018 to April 2019, Coredon Dutch Airlines (www. corendonairlines.nl) are also setting up nonstop connections on the AMS-NAT.
• The biggest European tour operators show increasing interest in Rio Grande do Norte, as Natal is located within 6 hours of flight from the European continent.
• The creation of an air hub in Natal seems to be just a matter of time. Airlines that take advantage of this opportunity will not only benefit from the shortest connection with Europe and the US, but also - other capitals of South America, such as Bogota, Lima, Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires.