The Rio Ambassadors Program inducts 18 new members in January, strengthening institutional tourism promotion across Rio de Janeiro State.
A group of 18 new Tourism Ambassadors for Rio de Janeiro State will be inducted this January at a closed event for around 80 guests. The Rio Ambassadors Program was created during the administration of former mayor Saturnino Braga and has since been coordinated by professor Bayard Do Coutto Boiteux.
The personalities—chosen to support the State’s institutional promotion through their professional work and social influence—were selected in 2025 by a jury chaired by Baroness Diana Macedo. The panel included Eric Herrero, Célia Domingues, Matheus Oliveira, Zizi Magalhães, Aloysio Teixeira, and Bayard Boiteux.
“Our challenge is to bring together a heterogeneous group that reflects diversity and, through their professional activities, can promote Rio de Janeiro institutionally. Since the program began, about 300 Ambassadors have been appointed, and 135 are currently active,” says Boiteux.
Rio Ambassadors: newly appointed
The new Tourism Ambassadors include Eric Tallon, France’s consul general in Rio de Janeiro; Clara Paulino, president of the Theatro Municipal Foundation; Júlio César de Souza, Miguel Pereira’s municipal secretary of Culture; psychologist and sustainability scientist Carla Pimentel; cultural producer Rose Oliveira, director of Grupo Ginga; and Cesar Miranda Ribeiro, director of the Museum of Image and Sound Foundation.
The list also features social columnist Cesar Gabriel Almeida; Daniela Ribeiro, president of the Cidade das Artes Foundation; farmer Edgar Ramos; photographer and entrepreneur João de Orléans e Bragança; visual artist Jerome Poignard; Lauro Cavalcanti, director of Casa Roberto Marinho; Marcia Wu, secretary-general of the Brazil–China Chamber of Exchange; Priscila Bentes, CEO of Circuito Elegante; pianist Rosária Filgueiras; hotelier Suzana Magalhães; Steve Solot, director of the Latin American Training Center (LATC); and Francisco de Orléans e Bragança, director of Tribuna de Petrópolis.
Promotion and perceived impact
According to Bayard Boiteux, the Ambassadors’ results are not always easy to measure, but they directly affect the destination’s image and promotion.
“Interviews, shows, exhibitions, and even social media posts are often more effective than traditional promotional campaigns. It is essential to be present at major events in source markets, but also to understand how Ambassadors—often in informal conversations or in activities not directly tied to tourism—end up generating concrete results for Rio,” he explains.
The Rio de Janeiro Tourism Ambassadors Program is coordinated by Portal Consultoria em Turismo, with support from the Association of Tourism Ambassadors of Rio de Janeiro State, the Capitu restaurant, and the National Society of Agriculture. Event production is signed by Ascom Divulga Rio and Matheus Oliveira Produções.
