Airbnb and Porto Seguro partner to support responsible tourism

From this June onwards, Airbnb will start collecting contributions in an unprecedented action to support local programmes that stimulate sustainable tourism in the city of Porto Seguro, Bahia (Brazil). The deal was signed last Thursday, the 19th of April, by the Head of Global Policy and Public Affairs for Airbnb, Chris Lehane, and Porto Seguro’s Secretary of Culture and Tourism, Richard Alves. In that occasion, Airbnb also presented data that shows the growth of the company in Brazil.

The company will raise and forward a contribution of 2,60 reais per guest each night to Porto Seguro’s Tourism Development Fund (FUNDETUR) in all reservations made from the 1st of June 2018. The management of FUNDETUR is conducted by the city’s Tourism Council, who decides where to apply the available resources.

This is the first initiative of the new Office of Healthy Tourism, launched globally in mid April. Besides the contribution, the company also commits, through a memorandum of understanding, to a cooperation with the city of Porto Seguro (which includes the districts of Arraial D’Ajuda, Trancoso and Caraíva) in actions with the intent to promote tourism and to improve the services to tourists through fundraising with small local business and the exchange of information about better digital marketing practices. Airbnb will also share statistics about the flow of travelers who use the platform in the city in order to help strategic planning of public policies connected to the tourism industry.

“Airbnb offers a healthy alternative to the mass tourism that disturbs cities from decades. Tourism is one of the greatest industries in the global economy, but not every tourism is created in the same way. Through the funds raised by our diversified community of hosts and our capacity to promote tourism in places that need the most, Airbnb is offering the best way to travel to destinations, locals and travelers”, said Chris Lehane.

Richard Alves also stresses the deals’ importance to the city. “On the one hand, a tourist destination must have a diversified range of experiences, which includes types of accommodation; on the other hand, it must look after the planning of tourism supply. Our role is to build alliances in tourism that meet such demands and the unique deal with Airbnb is going in that direction”, he said.

For the second consecutive year, Airbnb doubled the number of guests arrivals in Brazil and registered around 2,2 million travelers.

Airbnb in Porto Seguro:

• • 1,600 | active ads
  • 1,000 | guests in the platform
  • R$ 6.060 | annual earnings of a typical host
  • 11.800 | arrivals of guests in the city in 2017
  • 5,3 days | average stay per guest
  • Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Brasília  | the three states that sent the highest number of guests to the city.

• Some images from the event: