Minas Gerais Agency | Government of Minas launches Rota das Artes at the MTM tourism fair

The Government of Minas Gerais presented a new tourist route on the second and last day of the Minas Travel Market (MTM) fair, on Saturday (27/4), at Minascentro, in Belo Horizonte.

The Route of the Arts was launched at the event and will boost economic development and the generation of jobs and income in the regions covered by the project. The itinerary covers eight municipalities: Belo Horizonte, São Joaquim de Bicas, Igarapé, Brumadinho, Congonhas, Ouro Branco, Ouro Preto and Mariana. The cities are divided into three destinations, which offer a total of 16 experiences.

They are: Circuito Liberdade – Palácio da Liberdade and MM Gerdau – Museu das Minas e do Metal –, Destination Veredas – Inhotim (Brumadinho), Art, Ceramics and Brunch at the Ateliê (Brumadinho), Art in Ceramics at Mirante (Brumadinho), Brunch in Vila Lavanda (Brumadinho), Coração em Branco (Brumadinho), Alquimia dos Quintais (Brumadinho), 4 Estações with the Chef (São Joaquim de Bicas), Da Cozinha ao Quintal da Mestra (São Joaquim de Bicas) and Art in Wood ( Igarapé), and, finally, the Gold Circuit: Santuário do Bom Jesus do Matosinhos (Congonhas), Congonhas Museum (Congonhas), Cerâmica Saramenha (Ouro Branco), Ateliê Edney do Carmo (Mariana) and Restaurante Sebastião (Ouro Preto ).

Potential

The Route of the Arts will further enhance the tourist flow in the state, which had the greatest growth in the country in the first two months of 2024.

The increase is 7.6% compared to the same period last year.

The state is also a leader in accumulated performance over the last 12 months, from March 2023 to February this year, with growth (12.6%) more than double the national average (4.9%), according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

“Minas Gerais is a cultural powerhouse and culture has one of its great foundations in art. Belo Horizonte, our capital, Brumadinho, Ouro Preto and the Metropolitan Region have exceptional destinations, whether in the Baroque, contemporary art or modernism that marked the formation of Brazil”, highlights the Secretary of State for Culture and Tourism of Minas Gerais, Leônidas de Oliveira.

Repercussion

“Participating in the Rota das Artes is of immeasurable value. Since its launch, Destino Veredas has been working from traditional to contemporary using Inhotim, which is inductive and an international reference”, says Érica Maia, manager of the Veredas Regional Governance Instance (IGR).

She explains that all experiences are ground zero at Inhotim. “We brought this new way of experiencing experiences, always valuing the traditional, as we cannot lose the essence, but always bringing a hint of the contemporary”, she adds.

The executive director of Circuito do Ouro, Márcia Martins, also celebrates the initiative launched by the Government of Minas, through the State Secretariat of Culture and Tourism.

“The Rota das Artes connects BH to two major tourist regions in Minas Gerais, Circuito do Ouro and Destino Veredas, and has an approach that allows these regions to rethink the way they present themselves to the market and following global trends. In the Gold Circuit, the Rota das Artes values ​​the work of artists and encourages entrepreneurship”.

Fair

Participation in the Minas Travel Market is an initiative of the Government of Minas Gerais, through the State Department of Culture and Tourism, carried out in partnership with the UniBH University Center, with sponsorship from the Minas Gerais Development Company (Codemge) and support from Sebrae Mines.

The actions are also part of the “Year of Mineira Cuisine – Classic and Contemporary” project, launched in March, and the Mais Turistas program.

According to research carried out by the Minas Gerais State Department of Culture and Tourism, more than 2 thousand visitors visited the State Government’s two stands over the two days of the Minas Travel Market.

The main tourist segment covered by the exhibitors was ecotourism.

Around 80 businesses were established during the fair.

Among the main ones are alignments with agencies, operators and guides inside and outside Belo Horizonte. Partnerships with ecotourism groups and the presentation of tourism innovation tools were also highlighted.

Promotion of cuisine and culture

Valuing the historical heritage and cuisine of Minas Gerais as a cultural and tourist powerhouse, music, business and literature were also part of the actions at the Government of Minas Gerais stand at the event, which brought together representatives from 19 Brazilian states and around 2 thousand tourism professionals in the capital mining.

The Minas Gerais stand featured the “Cozinha Viva” project, with the presentation of recipes prepared by chefs.

The fair also featured a presentation of the “Heritage to Collect” project, from the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais (Iepha-MG), through the Invest Minas Tur platform, from Invest Minas, linked to the State Department of Development Economic (Headquarters-MG), and the calendars of the literary festivals of Araxá, Paracatu and Itabira.