IGLTA Gay Travel Symposium in Florianopolis, Brazil

We recently had another fantastic IGLTA Symposium in Florianopolis this past week, March 26th - 28th, 2009.  As you can see from the photos, we had a wide variety of attendees (see list below) and we were well taken care of by Clovis Casemiro and locally by Joceli and Martin Desmaras.

Florianopolis is like a mini-Rio... a local summer playground for folks coming in from Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires.  Officially, it's a
n island connected to the mainland by two bridges.  Gay life there is quite vibrant during this tourist season, with a variety of gay bars and clubs, one of the largest gay Carnival celebrations in the country, and a very cool gay beach at Praia Mole.

I arrived midweek after an incredible overnight flight on TAM Airlines from Miami through to Sao Paolo.  Their business class service was over the top and the way the shell seats reclined, I got a good night's rest on the flight down.

We began our tour on the south side of the island, hiking across a mountain trail (and yes, a big black snake did cross our path... how exciting!) and ending at a remote and beautiful beach tucked away amongst the hills.  We then took a boat to a remote restaurant in Porto do Contrato and had some fantastic seafood and oysters on the half-shell.

We continued the next day, investigating more of the island and then spending some quality time on the gay beach at Praia Mole.  I'm told that during the summer, this beach is packed... off season, it's a very pleasant spot with some hot gay men lounging in the sun and enjoying food and drink from the local beachside restaurant.

The weekend ended with a complete change of pace with a gay travel trade show and a subsequent conference about the state of the GLBT marketplace in southern Brazil as it relates to tourism.  Both the trade show and the conference were well attended, with presentations given in both Portuguese and Spanish to over 100 attendees.

It was another fantastic trip, and it has again highlighted a destination in the world that should be high on anybody's list to return to again.

Symposium Attendees:
Tom Nibbio IGLTA Headquarters
Ylan Chrem Lima Tours
Matthew Skallerud Pink Banana Media
Bryan Herb Zoom Vacations
Kenneth Coolen Alpenglow Productions / GayWhistler.com
Dean Nelson Alpenglow Productions / GayWhistler.com
Roy Heale Freelance travel journalist
Walter Rey Vamos Colombia Tour
Mark Chesnut Passport Magazine - Jornalista
Michael Luongo Jornalista
César Maschmann International Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Alfredo Ferreyra Bue Gay Argentina
Gonzalo Eduardo Aja Espil Bue Gay Argentina
Rod Stringer Horizons at Peregian
Jay Allen Mercier Horizons at Peregian
Rodney Dean Kruit Horizons at Peregian
Sam Vella Horizons at Peregian
Jonathan Klein Now Voyager Travel
Ed Cosman FLL Hospitality Consultants
Pablo de Luca GMAPS360
Gustavo Noguera GMAPS360
Jered Barclay Journalist - www.jeredtravel.com
Dane Steele Green Steele Luxury Travel
Pablo Casse Andesescape Ski Tours
Federico Garcia Torres Andesescape Ski Tours
Juan Carlos Villafañe Andesescape Ski Tours
André Fischer Mix Brasil / Revista Junior
Augusto Rossi Guia Gay Brasil
Sérgio di Pietro Revista A Capa
José Roberto Sato Revista Aimée
Valdeck Belarmino de Souza Junior Revista DOM
Alex Bernardes Pereira Revista Via G
Marta Dalla Chiesa Brazil Ecojourneys
Lesley Cushing Brazil Ecojourneys
Ricardo Calache Brazil Tropical Travel
Ricardo Saes Moreira Brazil Tropical Travel
José RC Junior Tam Viagens
Clóvis Casemiro Embaixador IGLTA no Brasil / Tam Vacations
Heitor Ferreira Filho Gay Travel Brasil
Oswaldo Luiz Gay Travel Brasil
Joceli Marina Cardozo IBI / Santur
Martin Desmaras IBI / Santur

Link to photos:

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