Tour and activities provider Viator launched a Portuguese-language site for Brazil, its first in South America.
Viator now operates sites in 10 languages -- English, French, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Japanese and Portuguese.
However, the Brazil site isn't Viator's first foray into Latin America: Viator operates a Spanish-language site in Mexico for the Americas. Mexico is part of North America.
With 192 million residents -- 40% of whom are Internet users -- Brazil, the fifth most populous country, is an important market for Viator and other travel companies looking to expand.
Br.viator.com, like other Viator sites, offers tours and activities in some 150 countries, but the tours and activities on the Portuguese-language site are priced and can be booked in Brazilian Real.
The Brazil site represents a departure of sorts for Viator because it is the first of the company's translated sites to be on the Viator.com domain. The company wants to centralize all future sites on the Viator.com domain in contrast to sites such as Viatorcom.mx and Viatorcom.fr, for instance.
"The ability to provide Portuguese-speaking travelers with our global selection of tours and activities in their native language presents an excellent opportunity for Viator's international expansion," says Dan Hart, Viator general manager for Europe and Asia. "Brazilians are the most engaged online users in Latin America and with 20% year-over-year growth in Internet users from 2010 to 2011, we see great potential for Viator in this burgeoning international online market."
One particular challenge for Viator is to offer tours and activities in Brazil and elsewhere which Brazilians will find practical and attractive.
"The Viator product managers are working on an ongoing basis to secure more Portuguese language tour options, particularly in major travel destinations," a Viator spokeswoman says.