São Paulo – Travel agency and tour operator Lynden, headquartered in São Paulo, is focused at promoting the Arab world as a travel destination for Brazilians. Owned by Khaled Fayez Mahassen, a Lebanese who has been living in Brazil for 44 years, the company specializes in Middle East, but also offers packages to other parts of the world, and sends around 150 Brazilian tourists to the region per year.
Within the Arab world, the leading tourist destination for Lyden’s clients is Lebanon. The Middle East packages also include, besides the airplane ticket and accommodation, cultural and historical tours, such as a ride through the south part of the country, where tourists can see a 13th-century castle in the city of Sidon, trips to the region of Baalbeck, with an archeological site and vineyards, and visits to places like the Gibran Khalil Gibran Museum or Beirut central district.
According to Mahassen, in the package to Lebanon, five days are reserved for planned tours, as the ones mentioned above, and two days are left for the travellers to enjoy the hotel, beaches and go shopping at leisure. The visitors can purchase not only Arab products in the country, says the businessman, but also European brands’ products at better prices than in Brazil.
Mahassen explains that the largest demand for packages to Lebanon does not come from Brazilian people of Arab descent. “It comes from people with no ties to the Arab world. Lebanon has a very rich history. Brazilians who are a little more educated know what Lebanon can offer and seek it,” he says. The package is usually offered with other destination in the region, such as Jordan, Turkey or even the United Arab Emirates.
Lynden had, until 2011, a flagship package which included Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Due to the conflict in Syria, however, the package can no longer be offered. Previously to the political and social turmoil Middle East is currently in, the agency used to send between 400 and 500 Brazilian tourists to Arab countries. “There are those who still take a risk and say: I am going there today because tomorrow the risk might be higher”, he says about the travellers to Lebanon.
Mahassen says that clients look for trips to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, for different reasons than those going to Lebanon, as the destination was promoted as being a luxurious place, with tall skyscrapers and modernity by the Emirates, an airline with direct flights from Brazil there. Travellers do not usually go only to Dubai, but the destination is a four- or five-day stopover in trips to India, China and Japan.
According to Mahassen, Lynden offers tour packages to all Arab countries which have a tourism industry, including Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Tunisia and Morocco, in addition to those mentioned above. They also offer packages to destinations such as Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Armenia, Turkey, Greece and other countries in Europe and Central America. The company works as a tour operator, selling packages to travel agencies, but also as a travel agency, offering packages directly to clients. The head office, alongside a store, is located on Ipiranga Avenue, downtown São Paulo.
Lynden’s owner has been living in Brazil since he was 19 years old. He was born in the village of Drih, in the district of Shouf, and moved from the country as he was politically persecuted there. As soon as he came to Brazil, he started working with his uncles, who were textile manufacturers, and later he became a manufacturer himself, producing clothes and curtains. Later on he started working with wholesale, and even owned a restaurant. Mahassen studied Journalism and History, but dropped out of both courses. After opening Lynden, 20 years ago, he quit the other businesses. Mahassen is also a poet, with some poetry books published. He is a member of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCdoB, in the Portuguese acronym), and tried to run for state congressman in São Paulo earlier this year, but was not elected.
Contact
Lynden
Phone: (+5511) 3313 1150
Email: lynden@lynden.com.br
Website: www.lynden.com.br
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
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