Sporting Events Will Position Brazil As One of the Top Luxury Destinations in the World - Why Go Now

The 2016 Olympics and 2014 World Cup will affirm what many know already -- Brazil is one of the best kept secrets for luxury travel in the world, although most people only know the country for its natural beauty, Carnival and Caipirinhas. Future developments added to an already established infrastructure, supporting luxury travel across the country, not just in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the first time a city in South America has been elected. Additionally, Brazil has been selected to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Several development projects are underway to prepare for these events, and to showcase the country as a major tourism destination. In Rio alone, hotel capacity is expected to more than double from its current total of 22,000 rooms to over 45,000 to accommodate visitors for the Olympic games1. Brazil's Ministry of Tourism expects funding of nearly $17 billion from public and private investors for projects including transportation, luxury hotels, restaurants, and other tourist attractions in preparation for the games.

The development for 2016 does not mean travelers need to wait to visit the country. For instance, there are already several options for luxury destinations and accommodations in Brazil. The sooner those looking for off the-beaten-path places visit there, the more they will discover authentic experiences before it gets too popular and prices start increasing.

There are many under-the-radar, yet luxurious options including:

· Angra dos Reis - A short drive from Rio, its 2000 beaches, 365 islands, and upscale accommodations are perfect for travelers looking to get away from the crowds of nearby Rio de Janeiro.

· Trancoso - South of Salvador-Bahia, this beach has received lots of attention recently for being a hip, chic destination

· Florianopolis - Located in Southern Brazil, it's an island with 42 unique, paradisiacal beaches that differ from the rest of Brazil's coast

· Fernando de Noronha - An island 200 miles from Recife, is essentially a nature preserve, offering world class diving and eco-tourism options

About Real Brazil Travel:
Real Brazil Travel is a boutique travel agency specializing in custom luxury vacations. We focus on serving Brazil's best beach destinations, unique hotels, private tours, and much more. The travel agency provides professional and friendly service from an expert native Brazilian

Contact:
Daniela Schuch, Founder
Real Brazil Travel
512-795-9895
http://www.realbraziltravel.com
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Three Tips on How to Visit the 2014 Soccer World Cup on a Limited Budget

With the qualification draw for the 2014 Soccer World Cup getting closer every day, many football fans are starting to make plans about traveling to Brazil to cheer on their favorite teams. It is already known how the places in the final tournament will be distributed between the different groups, and the pairings in the play-off games will be soon be determined. Fans are impatiently waiting for this news that will come from Rio de Janeiro at the end of July 2011 and are checking what options they have for traveling to Brazil.

However, visiting Brazil during this highly anticipated experience does not come cheap. The tickets are most likely to cost at least several hundred dollars each, with the tickets for the final games having a much higher price; possibly a couple of thousand dollars or more. Additionally, people from all around the world will be visiting the country at the same time and will need convenient hotel accommodation during their stay.

When the World Cup event was awarded to Brazil, the country was trusted with a very important job - to organize an event that will turn it into the football capital of the world for the duration of the championship. They have taken this job very seriously, and the world is expecting a memorable event; full of excitement and emotion - the specialties of Brazil. Brazil has already hosted a World Cup competition back in 1950, and has also won the FIFA World Cup five times, so expectations are very high.

If you are already searching online for soccer tickets for the 2014 Soccer World Cup, we have some tips to give you that will save you money:

Tip #1: Start your search from the official FIFA site

The best place to find 100% original tickets, and to avoid fraud while purchasing them, is without a doubt the official site of FIFA. Check there regularly about any news and updates about when there will be world cup tickets available. You will have to be quick, as the tickets sell very quickly. The tickets for the latest FIFA Soccer Euro Cup sold within just a few hours, so if you do not want to miss out on the event - make sure you keep up to date on ticketing for the World Cup. Buying from FIFA directly will also mean that you will save some money by not paying any extra costs or additional charges other online resellers might have.

Tip #2: Check for package deals at your trusted travel agent

Many travel agencies offer not only tickets, but a complete experience in Brazil during the event. Even if you go to Brazil just because of the championship, there is still a lot to see and experience. Some travel agencies have planned to offer great packages tailored to your preferred dates, requirements and budget. Most of the time, it is cheaper to get a full package, rather than get all the elements separately. If you are on a budget, tell your travel agent how much you are willing to spend and let them come up with an offer for your trip.

Tip #3: Buy early

It is logical that with an event of such scale the interest will be very great, while the available tickets and accommodation will be limited. No stadium in the world can fit in several millions of people, so if you want to be one of the lucky ones who will watch the finals live, you will have to be quick in buying your tickets. Thousands of people will be traveling to Brazil for the World Cup, so the earlier you make your plans, the better. If you are too late in ordering your tickets, you might have to buy from a reseller, which will mean that you will pay more than you should.

In conclusion, if you want to be one of the limited numbers of people to be a part of the unrivalled experience that is the 2014 Soccer World Cup, you should make plans early and check your options. Taking care of all the details in plenty of time will ensure that your time in Brazil will be unforgettable, and that you will have an enjoyable and emotional trip!

History of FIFA World Cup

FIFA World cup is a high level football tournament introduced to collect national teams around the world in a single competition. The game begins since a year of 1930 and Uruguay was first country to organize and winning the tournament.

Since than Brazil was most successful country in the tournament series. They had won the cup five times since their first victory in 1958. Their last time won the cup was in 2002 at South Korean and Japan.

Beside Brazil, Italy and Germany also well knows as most successful country in football history. Both countries had finished top four as many as eight and twelve times respectively. However there were another five more countries did won the cup as a total of eight countries. The countries were Argentina, Uruguay, France, England and Spain.

The Netherlands and Sweden another successful countries history but never won the cup. Both countries did finish as top four for four times. The Netherlands was three times reached to the final but still fail to finish as a champion. However for Sweden they did in final only one time but finished third was two times.

South Africa was the latest host nation organized the tournament in the year of 2010. It was also first time ever the tournament organized by African countries. Spain becomes the winner of the tournament by beating the Netherlands 1-0 in final match and it was first ever European teams won the cup outside their continent. After South Africa, the tournament will held in Brazil in the year of 2014.

If you are interested about football especially FIFA World Cup then please feel free to come visit our website that has lots of great information about news, stories and summary of FIFA World Cup.

2014 World Cup

The 2014 World Cup maybe some way off yet, indeed we have yet to witness the 2010 version in South Africa. Nevertheless, even though some 5 years away there is already a world cup buzz in Brazil.

The 2014 venues have recently been chosen, they are as follows:

As with all selection processes there are winners and losers, the winners are, the capital, Brasilia (no shock there), naturally too, Rio and Sao Paulo are selected. Belo Horizonte gets some of the games as does Porto Alegre, Curitiba in the south and Cuiaba in Central Brazil.

The north-east has done very well, with 3 cities chosen, Salvador, Recife/Olinda and Fortaleza. The Amazon region too has been selected (would have been an uproar if it hadn't) . There were only 2 possible venues, Belem or Manaus, the latter prevailed leaving the city of Belem very disappointed.

2 of the 3 north-eastern world cup venues have something extra to smile about, as Recife and Salvador get new stadiums (currently being built). All other venues will use existing stadia with extensive modernisations and improvements.

The official announcement citing the selected cities caused ripples of regional excitement as of course, hosting the world cup affords great opportunities for regeneration, notwithstanding more jobs and more investment. There is however a price to pay, such as state and local governments have to organize everything and ensure they meet the guarantees the Brazilian Federal Government have given FIFA.  

Everyone is excited, but nervous too, as all Brazilian's know the spotlight will be on them not only in terms of footballing pressure but other pressure factors too, such as; social and economic.

Brazilian's are very conscious of the world's eyes staring at them and will want to put on a show (and paper over any cracks too) - and I fully expect a treat come 2014 from the country of soccer [http://brazilwithoutborders.com/index.html] and samba.  

One of the best sites in English, for Brazilian football is this Brazilian Soccer Site [http://brazilwithoutborders.com/worldcup2014.html] There are weekly football previews there too in addition to 2014 world cup updates.

World Cup 2014 - Can Brazil Host It?

In 2003 FIFA pronounced the World Cup will be in South America, under its new rotation system (which begins in South Africa in 2010). The last time the World Cup was hosted in South America was in Argentina in 1978.

However, mistrust started unnerving in September 2006, with Brazil's president admitting the country did not have the stadiums to host the event.

Brazil was the only country on the continent which said it wanted to hold the event and why not? They have plenty of space, many live out of football and a possibility of many investors.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country will need to build at least 12 FIFA approved new stadiums if it plans on hosting the 2014 World Cup. "We don't have any stadium which is in a condition to host World Cup games," Lula said during a speech. "We're going to have to build at least 12 new stadiums in this country."

Far be it from us to question a president, but surely a couple of Brazil's existing stadiums could be renovated sometime during the next six years. We also wonder how he came up with the number 12? While Germany had 12 stadiums in 2006, South Africa will have 10 venues in 2010.

The stadiums are only a part of the equation. Anyone who has lived through a World Cup can tell you that the investment in infrastructure to support the visitors is tremendous. They will plough money into infrastructure, accommodation, travel, tourism and facilities to cater for this.

Flights and accommodation will have to be increased dramatically, as well to supply for the influx of people that will be coming from all over the world!!! We are surely looking at a few hundred thousand alone each week? Also, this will draw in a lot of overseas investors and companies into Brazil, as well as real estate investors who ride on the backs of big worldwide events like this!!!

Now, we believe it is possible for this Billion dollar investment to take place, their economy has been

pretty steady the past years, but top official says Brazil is more than a year behind schedule in its construction projects for the 2014 football World Cup.

The president of SINAENCO, a Brazilian architectural and engineering association, says the government must improve its efforts or risk losing investment and the chance at hosting future events.

"Brazil is more than a year behind," Jose Roberto Bernasconi said recently at SINAENCO's annual meeting. "The authorities have to get involved." Bernasconi says the World Cup will "promote Brazil and attract more investment in the future." But all that is at risk if construction deadlines are not met.

Brazil hosted the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro last year without major glitches. Brazil is bidding for the 2016 Olympics, which also would take place in Rio, therefore they are looking forward in getting back full or even investment at long term. Looks pretty simple on paper, yet better tangible.

Chuck Berkley is a true fan and sports writer UEFA Champions League reviews and Sports Betting. Feel free to reprint this article in its whole on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

Top Five Teams To Win 2014 FIFA World Cup

Although it might be too early to speak about the possible threats to the defending champions Spain, but let us discuss about the possible teams who could lay their hands on the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Brazil, known to be the paradise for football, is all set to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Let us discuss about the teams who would be the potential challengers for the 2014 World Cup and also speak about the defending Champions Spain, who have been winning each and every single thing in the past.

Brazil: The 5 times World Champions would be looking for their 6th World Cup Glory when they host the 2014 World Cup, having the home advantage on their side. However, a team like Brazil does not require an added advantage like this to win anything major. They can win it anywhere and everywhere, but with millions of Brazil hearts cheering for them, the Brazilians seem to be the most dangerous side this time around. With Upcoming future like Neymar and Pato, Brazil look more composed and would surely see themselves in the latter stages of the tournament. Brazil should surely make it to the last four in the tournament and it would be quite a disappointment if the Brazilians fail to at least make it to the Semi-Finals stage.

Spain: At the moment, one can call them the 'UNSTOPPABLE'. The only thing they know at present is to win and they are doing it on a regular basis, time and time again. They won the Euro Cup, then the World Cup and then the U-21 European Championship. Others were just mere spectators as they grabbed everything that occurred; be it a friendly match or a major tournament like the World Cup and the Euro Cup. By far, the stand out performers in the past 3-4 years. They have the perfect mix of players which a team requires to win any major tournament. Players like Villa, Sergio Ramos, Casillias, and Iniesta etc. makes the Spaniards the favourites to retain the World Cup.

England: Well it is indeed hard to say but the England team has been the biggest disappointment in the recent past, despite being rated as one of the strongest team in the world with only quality players filled in. Having the likes of Ferdinand, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham and many more greats, England have failed to achieve anything out of such an extremely talented team. Every single player in the side is regarded as the best when playing club football, but when you talk about playing together, they just fail to showcase the same. Young sensations like Wilshere and Caroll have stepped in, which might turn the tables for the English Side this time. But the people and fans are starting to lose confidence in the side as they have failed on several occasions despite being blessed with one of the most prolific and composed squad ever. Despite the recent poor showing by the English team, yet one can put their money on England to be the top contenders for the 2014 World Cup, with some real magic like talents breaking into the team.

Argentina: Yes! They have Lionel Messi. Yes! They have Carlos Tevez too, the two known to be the most dangerous players across the world of Football. Who doesn't know what Messi does for Barcelona and Tevez have done for United and is doing for City. Both can be defined similar to Michael Jackson's song as 'Dangerous'. But again, all the heights are achieved at club level. There is no doubt about Messi's potential, but then when it comes to International matches, the Messi magic just doesn't work the way it does for Barcelona. As a team, Argentina has struggled too in the recent past. Struggling in the qualifiers to make it to the 2010 World Cup, losing friendlies against mediocre teams and even when they win, the win just looks an average and a very hard-fought one. But with the likes of Messi and Tevez in the team, one can never write off the Argentinians. They must surely see themselves in the last four with Messi and Tevez looking in fine touch with a much balanced team than before.

Germany / Portugal: The Germans would surely miss the services of the former Germany Captain; Ballack, who announced his retirement after his fallout with the national team coach. But the kind of performance the Germans showed in the last World Cup was truly outstanding. The Germans has always been the side to watch out for and with the likes of Muller and Ozil and bagging a lot of experience with the current captain, Lahm, the team looks in great touch and should surely be one among the top four at least to challenge Spain.

Talking about the Portuguese side, they have Ronaldo with them, one of the most prolific wingers of all time and his speed was just unmatched. Manchester United winger, Nani too is playing his best football of his career so far. The current Ronaldo-Nani combination can singlehandedly do wonders for the Portuguese.

Although, despite stating the favourites for the coming World Cup, the underdogs like Mexico and Uruguay too can slowly creep up and might snatch the World Cup from the noses of the top favourites. You never know what is in store for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Find out everything you need to know about 2014 FIFA World Cup at The Sports Mirror.

How Successful Has Brazil Been at World Cup Tournaments?

The biggest and best sports competition in the world is the quest for the World Cup of Soccer. Since 1930, the World Cup of Soccer has been akin to finding the Holy Grail in sports terms. The country of Brazil has been a leader in this quest, winning the World Cup an astounding five times (in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002). One could actually measure the success of the sport of soccer by the amount of times Brazil has competed and come out on top.

All the best soccer teams in the world want to play in the World Cup tournament, but only two get chosen. There are more teams competing for the World Cup then there are countries represented in the United Nations. The World Cup is at the very top of the sporting world, with thousands of players competing for their chance to be a global sports star. There are also millions more soccer fans who want to see their country win. Brazil is at the top of the food chain when it comes to soccer. They have produced some of the best players of the century with more stars rising from their ranks every season. Such notable soccer players like Rivaldo, who came out of obscurity to win the World Cup of 2002 and Cafu, otherwise known as Il Pendolino which means "the express train" captained the winning team of that year. Whenever soccer is mentioned anywhere in the world, people immediately think of the Brazilians and their achievements.

Brazil hasn't always been a shining example of the best teams, during the 1970's and 80's they struggled with many injuries, fouls and scandals involving players and coaches. They had many players who had outgrown their former glory and needed to do something to save their image in the world. Brazil's players lost out to other countries, like Germany, Uruguay, Italy and England. However, they remained a powerful force in the soccer world. In 1950 and 1998, respectively they won vice-championship in two editions and then went on to be semi-finalists in 1938, 1974 and 1978. Their indomitable spirit and the absolute life dedication of their players and fans set Brazil apart from players coming from other countries. But with careful selection of players and higher standards in the soccer industry as set forth by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) they were able to meet higher levels of achievement and beat out the Germans in 2002.

In 2014, Brazil plays host to the World Cup and they are gearing up for a promising season with some of the most physically-honed, skilled players in the world ready to do battle for old "Victory". It should be an exciting time for soccer fans everywhere, most of all the people of Latin America. Look for great things as Brazil proves once again why they are the country with the most wins and some the best fans in the world.

Get 2010 World Cup soccer packages from an industry leader in Sports Travel. Preferred seating, expert concierge services and guaranteed tickets for the best 2010 winter Olympics packages.

Brazil's FIFA World Cup Preparation Is Behind Schedule

The FIFA World Cup 2014 is due to be held in Brazil. While the five-time world cup winners would be looking forward to playing before home crowds, they have other worries ahead of the event.

The host nation is well behind schedule in its preparedness to host the prestigious event, according to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Valcke has expressed concern at the slow progress shown by the host nation of the 2014 mega event. The lack of progress has been most obvious in Sao Paulo, where a new stadium is under construction. The stadium that was planned to be used in the 2014 world cup is unlikely to be ready by 2013. As originally scheduled, the stadium was to be up in time to host the Confederations Cup to be held in that year. That would serve as a rehearsal for the bigger event to come, in 2014.

Another area of tardiness has been in the building of airports and transport links. Brazil is said to lack stadiums, airports and a national transportation system, according to Valcke.

Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup, once earlier, way back in 1950. The 2014 host nation has had the most successful team ever, having won the event a record five times. But the South American country's planning has left much to be desired since making a successful bid to host the 2014 world cup event.

Building stadiums was the most challenging task of all, according to Valcke, who emphasized that the Sao Paulo stadium was unlikely to be used at all, in 2014, as it was not up to the required standard. Valcke made his comments on a visit to Moscow, in Russia, while speaking to Russian officials of the organizing committee of the 2018 world cup. Russia were recently successful in their bid to host the 2018 event, and the FIFA secretary general advised them to be ready with everything in place, at least two years ahead of the event.

Russia would have to build and renovate nearly every stadium available in the country, according to Alexei Sorokin, chief executive of Russia's world cup organising committee. However, Sorokin was optimistic that everything would be up and running by 2016, as required by FIFA.

Sorokin said that Russia didn't have a single stadium up to FIFA's standards, but that it was well within their capability to get the required infrastructure in place, in time. The new infrastructure is likely to cost Russia $10 billion, spread across 13 host cities named for the event.

For the latest sports gossip, including the FIFA World Cup, click http://www.sportingattitude.com.

Suresh Iyer is an avid sports fan and blogger.

Marketing Lessons From The World Cup

The month long spectacle of the quadrennial Football word cup culminated in South Africa after much fanfare and gaiety last week. The tournament as a whole was a great success thanks to the hosts who took to the event in such a huge manner that the festive atmosphere that prevailed truly reflected the rainbow nation in its true colors. Though there was much to crow about the successful event, the first in the African continent, a lot of things could've been done better. Let's look at the some of the lessons that we can learn from this event from a marketing angle.

Ignore Technology at your own peril: I know that my English friends would still be sulking about Lampard's disallowed goal. Whether that decision would have made a significant impact on the outcome of the match is indeed debatable. I have my doubts as I feel that Germany was a much better side on the day and they thoroughly deserved the win.

Disallowed Goal

But what is beyond debate is the fact that the simple use of technology could've avoided the issue altogether and everyone would have been happy with the final result had it been the case. And the winner would've been pleased that their win did   not get sullied in the controversy.

Marketing Takeaway - Don't get overawed by technology as it's a great enabler.

Don't alter crucial factors close to the event: The tricks that the ball (Jabulani) played in adversely affecting the games as a spectacle as well for players could've been avoided had they not left the choice of balls to be used till the very last moment.

Marketing takeaway - Trust the tried and tested tools when the stakes are high.

Don't go overboard with the scarcity card: Well before the first whistle blew or the sound of Vuvuzela was heard, FIFA had announced that the most of the tickets had been sold. But in hindsight, the claim that 97% of tickets were sold before the tournament began seemed hardly credible as made conspicuous by swathes of empty seats at the stadia. Did they put off the potential buyers by playing the scarcity card excessively? Well, the evidences seem to suggest so.

Marketing takeaway - Be moderate and credible with claims as it may put off prospective customers otherwise.

Know your market: One of the basics of marketing is to know your target audience and the organizers made a basic error in judgement in this aspect. There was a huge drop in the ticket sales over the internet, since majority of the football fans in Africa don't have access to internet and the payment options online. Africa isn't Europe and what worked in the previous world cup obviously didn't work this time as the market has changed.

Marketing takeaway - Choose to go online or offline based on the audience

Greed isn't a virtue: The exorbitant pricing of the packages - travel, accommodation and ticketing aimed to squeeze out the maximum from the ardent faithfuls was met with strong negative response from all around. And instead of making it an affordable proposition for the multitude of fans, the sheer greed on the part of the stage managers fended them off big time.

I'm sure that the cricket fans would nod their heads in agreement on how the West Indies bungled on the same in the world cup that they hosted in 2007 but did well to quickly learn from that mistake in time for World T20 two years later. Hope that Brazil can take a leaf out of their books in time for 2014.

Marketing takeaway - When you're working with a massive market, the prices ought to be competitive

World Cup Party

But for all the marketing slip ups and hiccups, what cannot be missed was the joi de vivre that was on display in ample measure. Let's capture that spirit of joy and happiness in our marketing efforts as well.

Waka Waka folks..!!

Internet Marketing & MLM Mentor