Aquiraz - Dom Pedro Laguna

Works are starting this month on the Aquiraz Riviera, on the beach of Marambaia, 25km from Fortaleza, which is scheduled for completion as of end 2010.

The 1800m of beachfront will be used for 8 hotel lots - 4 ha each.

The investors - Consorcio Luso-Brasileiro Aquiraz investimentos consist of local group Dias Branco, the Portuguese Ceara Investment Fund (Fundo Imobiliario, Dom Pedro, Solverde).

The first hotel, Dom Pero Laguna should be open by end 2008, with 68 rooms and 90 bungalows - plus an 18-hole golf course. It is the 8th hotel of the Dom Pedro group.

Salvador shopping opens - and plans extension

Salvador shopping, the mega-mall from Joao Carlos Paes Mendonca, which just opened in July, is already planning to increase the number of stores to 458 in two years.

The mall was built by Andrade Mendonca at the astonishing rate of 20000m2 per month.

Portuguese tourism to Brazil slowing down

Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, India and South Africa... new destinations with all-in hotels and cheaper prices are competing with Brazil - whose strong real makes trips to Brazil a lot more expensive than 2, 3 years ago.

Operators like Club 1840, Iberojet, Terra Brasil, Mundovip and Travelplan, who make for the bulk of charters to Brazil and the Caribbean, are reducing their number of flights, faced with low demand. Flights can be found for as little as 400 Euros.

In 2006, Portuguese tourism in Brazil ended with roughly the same number as 2005 - around 540000 pax. Salvador, with 162.212 pax, showed a growth of 4.5%; Natal rose by 7.9% to 115000 pax; while Fortaleza stagnated at 123000 pax - and Recife lost more than 9%, now at 137575 pax.

Direct Flights Salvador - Paris

TAM will start flying direct from Paris to Salvador as of August 8. An Airbus 230 will leave Thursday evening from Salvador and land in Paris around lunchtime. It returns from Paris at 22.30 and will land at 04.00 in Salvador.