by MENAFN – Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) Isaura Daniel —  São Paulo – GoToBEY, a division of Líder Corporate Eventos & Lazer travel agency, will take tourists from Brazil to Lebanon in June and September. The itineraries include visits to their family’s hometowns, local cuisine classes, walks on the beach, and leisure and shopping trips to Syria. GotoBEY is in São Paulo and ‘BEY’ refers to Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city. One of the agency’s owners, Marcos Destro, says that Lebanese descendants, even if they are the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of immigrants, feel a strong connection to Lebanon. ‘It’s passed from generation to generation,’ he says. So, GoToBEY decided to offer packages that included a visit to their family’s hometown. Even if the travelers don’t keep in touch with their family members, the agency prepares an itinerary, drives and specifics.

The packages, though, aren’t sold just for Lebanese descendants but anyone interested in visiting Lebanon going from Brazil. Destro says that the Brazilians that don’t have family ties to the country and seek these trips usually have Lebanese descendant friends. ‘That talk about Lebanon non-stop,’ he jokes. Another possibility is taking a Lebanese cooking class in a school in the country. You can choose between a Brazilian and a Lebanese chef as a teacher. They both teach in Portuguese, Destro says. GoToBEY also offers the possibility to visit the coastal city of Anfeh, which has a crystal-clear water and white sand, reminding of the Greek beaches, the agency reports. Staying in the region five more days and visiting Damascus, Syria, is another alternative. It’s just a 114-Km drive from the Lebanese capital to the Syrian capital. Destro says that the itinerary includes a visit to tourist and history landmarks, such as palaces, mosques and markets, and Damascus is also a good shopping destination. ‘It’s very cheap,’ he says, explaining that the Lebanese themselves usually go to the neighbor country to shop thanks to the low prices.

Package travels to Lebanon in June and September last 11 days, with nine nights at hotels. The itinerary also includes famous tourist attractions of the country, such as visits to Jeita Grotto, Nahr al Kalb river valley, Beirut’s market, Our Lady of Lebanon statue, Beiteddine Palace, Deir al-Qamar waterfalls, Baalbek temples, and others. Each package will take 30 people. The businessman says that Lebanon’s current situation hasn’t affected the tourism motions in the country. Lebanon faces a delicate financial situation, with a newly formed government and a high unemployment rate. But tourism is an important source of income, Destro points out. Besides Syria, the package to Lebanon also includes the possibility of a six-day trip to Jordan. GoToBEY also works with other Arab destinations, such as Tunisia and Egypt. The agency has a nine-nights travel scheduled to Tunisia and a four-nights to Malta in June, as well as 12-nights travels scheduled to Egypt in October.

Líder works in several tourism and travel fronts. The company is focused on corporate travels and acts as an umbrella company for Líder Eventos, Líder Lazer , GoToBey and EaíVamosPraOnde.com. In the corporate sector, the company traditionally offers business trips to Japan, and has now increased its number of trips to the Arab countries as well. Líder Eventos works with the organization of events related to corporate trips, while Líder Lazer offers leisure trips to employees of companies the agency works with. EaíVamosPraOnde.com is an online platform to buy tickets and other travel services in partnership with Decolar.