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Thiago Akira

About

I'm part of the minority that loves problems.

I always broke the mold: nothing too ordinary for a descendant of Japanese immigrants. Going against the exact sciences, I went into humanities and became an advertiser. The rest was just following the problem, always.

I started in 2002 with a website company and, the following year, an advertising agency. But it was at FGV-RJ that I discovered marketing. After finishing my MBA, I became marketing manager for a leading snack brand in my state. In 2009, with digital taking off, I opened the first 100% digital agency in Brazil's Center-West region, and started teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in digital marketing.

In 2012 I entered tourism through inbound tourism in Bonito/MS. That's where I truly learned: selling and positioning for the traveler while also being competitive in B2B, where the trade handpicks which products to work with. I trained travel agencies, tour operators and OTAs on Bonito and Pantanal, and took part in public management projects in my home state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Getting to know that world convinced me that digital marketing needs to be tailored to tourism businesses to actually deliver results. I became a consultant, speaker and professor, focused on building digital thinking in companies and professionals, whether to execute well or to hire better and demand real results.

Today I work with every kind of tourism business across the country: public and private, destinations and associations. I'm also marketing director for a hotel management company and, since 2015, a partner in a company that produces interactive content in virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence (my technological, Eastern side that never rests).

My mission is simple: turn problems into opportunities. If you made it this far and have a positioning problem, I might be the right person for the job. Remember: I love problems.

Who I've worked with

Journey

Twenty years following the problem.

  1. 2002

    The beginning

    First website company and, the following year, a traditional advertising agency.

  2. 2007

    FGV and marketing

    MBA at FGV-RJ and marketing management for a leading snack brand in the state.

  3. 2009

    Digital pioneer

    Opened the first 100% digital agency in the Center-West region, and started teaching.

  4. 2012

    Entry into tourism

    Inbound tourism in Bonito/MS: learned to sell and position for the traveler and the trade.

  5. 2015

    Tech streak

    Partner in a company producing interactive content in VR, augmented reality and AI.

  6. Today

    Industry reference

    Consultant, speaker and professor. ABBTUR 2024 Award and Brazil's 1st carbon-neutral speaker.

AI in Tourism

What I build with Daniel Turbox.

Tourism has been flooded with gurus and generic tools wearing an artificial intelligence sticker. Almost none of them solve the problem of the people who work in tourism or run a destination. The AI in Tourism project came out of that gap: Thiago Akira, a marketing consultant for destinations, and Daniel Turbox, developer and founder of Turbox, design tailored solutions together for those who need market intelligence and strategic management in tourism.

Thiago Akira and Daniel Turbox
Thiago Akira and Daniel Turbox
  • Strategy and market

    Thiago Akira

    Turns the destination's problem into a question a machine can answer: which source markets to prioritise, what to measure, which decision needs unlocking.

  • Engineering and product

    Daniel Turbox

    Builds the actual solution, from data to interface. Founder of Turbox, he is the one who turns the strategic design into a system that runs and scales.

Who we build for

  • Public tourism management

    Departments, foundations and state or city bodies that need market intelligence to justify investment and guide policy.

  • Territories and regional bodies

    Regional governance bodies and tourism regions that need to see the whole picture, not each municipality in isolation.

  • Organisations and associations

    CVBs, associations, unions and federations representing the trade, who need consolidated data to negotiate and show results.

  • Tailored projects

    When the problem does not fit an off-the-shelf tool, we design from scratch: observatory, market listening, assisted diagnosis, internal systems.

Partners and projects

Memberships and certifications

Let's talk

Got a problem I could help solve?

Need to build a tourism marketing plan from scratch, or bring an existing one up to date? A diagnosis of your digital positioning? A talk that moves the room? Consulting shaped around you or your team? Count on me.