Brazil must respond quickly to fatal airplane crash, or risk losing entire tourism industry

As someone who spends a great deal of time in Brazil, the crash of the TAM flight in Sao Paulo hit me hard, as it so obviously did to so many others, even those with no connection to Brazil. Nearly 200 lives were extinguished in the hellish accident that sent this South American nation into mourning.

For Brazil, the accident, but 10 months following the previous “worst air disaster in Brazilian history,” is hurtful in numerous ways. Looking solely at the tourism industry, the crash of TAM Airbus 320 will likely cost this South American giant billions in revenue.

This was supposed to be a great time for Brazil. The Pan American Games are currently taking place in Rio de Janeiro, which officials hoped would be a springboard to Brazil being awarded the 2014 World Cup. There is a growing golf industry here, and more than ever, the oft-floundering tourism industry appeared ready to flourish.

For now though, all bets are off. Because while there are many reasons to make Brazil a vacation destination - Carnaval, the Amazon, Rio, etc., - people looking to travel here more than likely will funnel through Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, where the accident occurred. It doesn’t take a lot of analysis to imagine that if someone’s choices came down to visiting, say, the Grand Canyon or visiting the Amazon, at this point, they’d pick the former.

A main issue here is that Brazil’s travel industry is light years behind the times. A desperately poor nation in so many aspects, it wasn’t until recently that air travel became an option to more than just the elite. Now ancient airports like Congonhas struggle to keep up.

For Brazil, what this accident means is that it’s time to put aside the bickering, name-calling, finger-pointing and inaction that dominates its political system. Now is the the time for serious, professional and concrete action. It will be an expensive proposition to update the air industry here, but it is something that must be done and be done thoroughly. Having the nation’s military control the airline industry is obviously not working,especially when even more close calls are being reported just days after the horrifying accident.

With nearly 400 lives lost in less than a year, Brazil is on the verge of becoming a complete pariah in the tourism world, which is something that will only further hurt the poor and hinder the consistent economic strides the nation has made over the past eon.

Brazilians love to brag that it was Alberto Santos-Dumont, not the Wright brothers, who was the first to fly. And while many will argue that, there can be no argument - Brazil’s leaders need to fix its horribly broken travel industry. Mourning those that lost their lives will be a hollow exercise if immediate and effective action isn’t taken.

–WKW