17 /January / 2005

Brazilian business leader to invest in ecotourismo

Honduras is one step closer to becoming home to a new forest hotel like the famous Ariau Amazon Towers located in the Brazilian jungle.

The Project took on new energy with the recent visit of one of Brazil’s most successful businessmen, Francisco Ritta Bernardino, owner of the Ariau Hotel in Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon. Ariau has been host to a long list of celebrities and world leaders, including Bill Clinton, King Carlos of Spain, Jimmy Carter and the Swedish royal family.

Bernardino – who also owns the Amazon’s largest fleet of river boats and nearly a million hectares of land -- spent several days touring Honduras to examine possible sites for the project. Once the project gets off the ground, say experts, it will be completed within a year. Bernardino’s visit was prompted largely by the efforts of Brazilian Ambassador to Honduras Victor Manuel Lozano and Commercial Attaché Roberto Kattan.

Bernardino said he enjoyed his visit to Honduras, especially the country’s spectacular beaches. “Honduras is a very open country with very kind people,” he said. “I didn’t come to travel, I came to invest.” While he was here he also met with Tourism Minister Thierry de Pierrefeu.