Abu Dhabi's tourism industry is heading for Sao Paolo for the inaugural World Travel Market Latin America as it looks to build awareness of the destination ahead of Etihad Airways' June launch of non-stop flights from Brazil's second largest city to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Together with a 20-member strong delegation, Abu Dhabi Tourism '&' Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) is mounting a destination pavilion at the show, which runs at the TransAmerica Expocenter from April 23-25. "Etihad's Sao Paolo-Abu Dhabi service opens the destination up to one of the most important segments on the world tourism stage," said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions '&' Overseas Offices, TCA Abu Dhabi. The number of Brazilians staying in Abu Dhabi's hotels is on the increase. In 2012 some 3,605 Brazilians stayed in the emirate's hotels and hotel apartments delivering 14,627 guest nights and an average-length-of-stay of just over 4 nights. "Already in the first two months of this year, there's been a 46% rise on the same period last year in the number of Brazilians checking into Abu Dhabi's hotels and they are staying longer, with the average-length-of-stay now nearing 5 nights," said Al Nuaimi. "With the June launch of Etihad's non-stop Sao Paolo-Abu Dhabi service, we can look forward to welcoming an ever-increasing number of Brazilian travellers."