About us

Established in 1994, Ideia Tours is a full-service destination management company combining extensive knowledge of Brazil, and its expanding tourism industry, with a clear understanding of the expectations of foreign visitors concerning service standards and the delivery of genuine experiences. This comes courtesy of the company’s Dutch and Brazilian co-founders, supported by a dedicated multi-cultural team of travel experts.

From the company’s head office in Recife and support office in Rio de Janeiro, this international team designs a comprehensive range of specialist journeys throughout Brazil for groups, families, couples, or solo travellers with distinct interests on behalf of tour operators. Ideia Tours works strictly business-to-business.

A personal commitment to meeting the individual requirements of each travelling customer, strong relationships with local suppliers, a focus on quality, safety and sustainability ensures a consistently high-class, efficient and reliable operation.

Our Vision

Our Vision

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Our Vision

Our Mission

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Responsible Travel

Quality & Safety

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Sustainability Policy

Responsible Travel
& Sustainability

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Our Team

Our Team

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Work with us

Interested in working with us

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Our Vision

Our Vision

We are fully aware that the tourism industry has undergone dramatic changes over the last decade. The abundance of information on the internet, the rise of online travel agencies, social media evaluation, and active mobility within the distribution chain has led to shifts in the approach taken to the purchase of leisure services.

To meet and exceed the expectations of more demanding passengers and tour operators, our trusted team of well-trained travel specialists combine the necessary international marketplace experience with insightful knowledge of the destination. As such, they are equipped to create many memorable moments as trips progress, ensuring that the full experience of Brazil is embraced along the way.

Brazil offers boundless, one-off experiences for those visiting the country, and as a destination management company we aim to make the most of that prevalence. To do so, we closely work together with our affiliated tour operators abroad and well-vetted local suppliers at home. Together, we ensure that our pricing is consistent, competitive and clear, with our service standards meeting the requirements of our clients when it comes to quality, safety, and sustainability. As such, we are confident in our capability to meet the challenges of the time, and assure continuous growth of our company.

Our Mission

Our Mission

We passionately believe that Brazil is unique: the most diverse tourist destination on the planet blessed with friendly, welcoming people, whose positive attitude to life at times contrasts with the challenges they face. We strive to offer travelling passengers the opportunity to understand, discover, experience and share our view of the country, instilling in others the desire to visit Brazil on their return. In doing so, we wish to encourage, contribute and participate in the development of sustainable tourism in Brazil.

We know that a growing number of foreign visitors welcomed with care and responsibility will spread greater awareness, and help to preserve Brazil’s cultural heritage and natural wonders. This all serves to improve the living conditions of its people, their communities, and ability to access new opportunities and jobs with a fair salary. We would like our passengers to trust us as a company which is highly skilled at what we do, providing that unique experience which causes them to come back and discover more, time after time.

Responsible Travel

Quality Policy

As a company we strive to meet and wherever possible, exceed the expectations and requirements of our clients (tour operators) and their passengers during their stay in Brazil. To this end we invest in an adequately capacitated and structured team that complies with all the applicable demands and which continuously seeks to improve work processes and services.

We have defined clear goals regarding staff performance, supplier performance concerning quality, safety and sustainability, performance of work processes including response times, complaint handling and product development. We continuously monitor the accomplishment of these goals and make adjustments whenever necessary. We measure passenger satisfaction through the analysis of evaluation forms, continual client management reports and bi-annual client satisfaction surveys which evaluate the day-to-day working relationship. We also organize local guide training sessions and execute on-site inspections and audits on a regular basis.


Safety Policy

As a company we have a legal and moral obligation to ensure the safety of our passengers while travelling in Brazil. To this end we have implemented a risk management system that identifies, examines and mitigates potential risks through the implementation of safety procedures, checklists, and guidelines that we have integrated within our network. Our contract bound suppliers guarantee compliance with applicable legislation and safety procedures and are regularly inspected and assessed by Ideia Tours. The safety procedures apply to transportation, excursions, accommodations and local guides. We have a risk management manual and a local guide training manual for staff and guide training. Ideia Tours furthermore holds Public Liability Insurance, a 24-hours emergency number for English, French and German speakers and an Emergency Response Plan to deal with incidents. As such we believe we are prepared to provide maximum safety to our passengers during their stay in Brazil.

Sustainability Policy and Principles

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL & SUSTAINABILITY

Responsible Travel:

Tourism can be an enriching experience for both the visitor as well as the residents of a chosen destination. Over the last few years, Brazil has become an increasingly popular choice for a variety of different travellers. Growth, however, in order to be beneficial for all, must be sustainable. Fortunately, many initiatives are being accomplished in the field of responsible travel, of which we are proud to be a part!

In 2015, Ideia Tours achieved the GSTC recognized Travelife Certification of Excellence in Sustainable Tourism. We are the only Travelife certified DMC in Brazil to have achieved this status. We chose Travelife specifically for its elaborate set of tools that enable us to engage in ecologically as well as socio-culturally responsible tourism. We really feel that the programme´s criteria and audits have not only helped us implement positive change in our own business, but also amongst the many hotels, lodges and travel agencies that we work with.

Our environmentally friendly offices in Rio de Janeiro and Recife are equipped with efficient in- office waste management and rainwater collection systems. Our very own green team coordinates and monitors these and other sustainability measures, such as recycling and reducing our consumption of paper and energy. Through SOS Mata Atlântica, we compensate for our carbon emissions and we have installed solar panels on the roof of our office in Recife. Our green team conducts regular inspections and surveys in an attempt to monitor and evaluate the commitment our suppliers to sustainable tourism. Over the years, these efforts have led to the development of the Ideia Green Leaf (), which we use to indicate the hotels and service providers that in our view demonstrate a higher level of sustainability. If you need any further information, please contact our sustainability coordinator on sustainability@ideiatours.com.br.

SUSTAINABILITY POLICY AND PRINCIPLES:

Sustainability implies a long-term commitment to our clients, suppliers, co-workers and employees through practices that respect the environment and contribute to the development of the communities that support our activities and services. We believe in sustainable development through customer satisfaction, offering fair trade to our suppliers and a positive economic, social and environmental legacy. To this end, we aim to minimize any adverse impact of our activities and organize our services through transparent, measurable processes.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY:

Providing a safe, healthy, stimulating workplace environment for our employees, with training, knowledge and participation.

Adherence to statutory labour laws concerning pay, working hours, holidays, special leave and union membership.

Equal employment opportunities, irrespective of age, sex, colour, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation and particular needs.

An effective complaints system for sexual or psychological harassment.

Protection of children’s rights, including protection from child labour and sexual abuse or exploitation.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY:

Guiding and encouraging employees and suppliers to adopt sustainable practices.

Careful selection of vendors that share our views concerning destinations and associated communities.

Providing accurate, up-to-date product information and transparent communication on sustainable accommodation, excursions and transport options.

Providing information and conducting action to minimize any detrimental impact of our activities on ecological and sensitive areas, their biodiversity and the local community, plus responsible use of natural resources.

Appropriate management of company waste.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY:

Seeking competitive advantage and improving quality and results sustainably by continuously measuring and evaluating processes and services to meet the expectations of clients, suppliers, employees and local communities.

Our Team

Our Team

DIRECTORS

Bernard van Steen
Bernard van Steen
Emilia van Steen
Emilia van Steen

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Gilianne Cunha
Gilianne CunhaOperational Manager
Erik Stronkhorst
Erik StronkhorstDutch Market
Marcela Ramos
Marcela RamosFrench Market
Tatiani Schrammel
Tatiani SchrammelDACH Market

MARKETING AND PRODUCT

Glaucos Ribeiro
Glaucos RibeiroMarketing Coordinator & Product Development

TRAVEL CONSULTANT

Geórgia Costa
Geórgia CostaQuality Coordinator
Rafael Rabello
Rafael RabelloTeam leader Dutch Market
Flávia Ferraz
Flávia FerrazTeam leader French Market
Danielle Silva
Danielle SilvaTeam leader DACH Market
Renata Oliveira
Renata Oliveira
Simeone Lopes
Simeone Lopes
Mila Santos
Mila Santos
Sandro Aguiar
Sandro Aguiar
Fernanda Barbosa
Fernanda Barbosa
Henrique Ferreira
Henrique Ferreira
Ana Ferreira
Ana Ferreira
Pedro Garcia
Pedro Garcia
Anthony Ribeiro
Anthony Ribeiro
Rebeca Santos
Rebeca Santos
Felippe Marinho
Felippe Marinho
Brenda Guedes
Brenda Guedes
Thaís Nascimento
Thaís Nascimento

HANDLING RIO DE JANEIRO

Verônica Maciel
Verônica MacielTeam Leader Handling Rio
Diana Danielyan
Diana DanielyanTravel Counsultant
Carmem Rosas
Carmem RosasTravel Counsultant

ACCOUNTING AND PURCHASING

Stefan van Steen
Stefan van SteenFinancial Manager
Heverton Cassio
Heverton CassioAccounting
Mariana Bandeira
Mariana BandeiraAdministrative Assistant
Anne Carolina
Anne CarolinaAdministrative Assistant
Interested in working with us?

Interested in working with us?

Tourism is a people business, and we are always looking for outstanding employees and partners, committed to providing an excellent service to our clients and their travelling guests, so please feel free to get in touch if you are interested in working with us. Current job vacancies will appear on this page, however, even if there are no existing openings on a given day, we would always be interested in hearing from you, and receiving your CV, along with a summary of what you are looking for, and how you think you can contribute to our company’s results; becoming an outstanding employee in your own right.

Our Vision Our Mission Responsible Travel Sustainability Policy and Principles Our Team Interested in working with us?