Portugal wants to attract tourists from new markets

The United States, Canada, China, South Korea and Turkey are the markets in which the tourism sector wants to invest in the coming years to reduce seasonality and stimulate value growth.

Key players in the sector met with the Minister of Economy, Pedro Reis, and the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, to outline the 2024 strategy. During the first meeting of the Strategic Council for Tourism Promotion (CEPT), they reported the “good recovery of activity after the pandemic” and “pointed out that 2024 has already surpassed the best figures of 2019 in all regions of the country”.

The Ministry of Economy added in a statement the objective that “external promotion in the coming years will encourage the commercial offer of differentiated products for more demanding segments” such as cultural tourism, architecture, gastronomy and wine tourism, among others.

For the Minister of Economic Affairs, the strategic importance of the sector for the national economy is “clear”. Pedro Reis defended “value-added tourism, which can retain talent, with a strong commitment to a green agenda and its internationalization”. “We are here to accelerate the sustainable growth of our economy, by investing in strategic sectors such as tourism,” he added in the same statement.

The governor also defended “working in partnership and proximity in action.” CEPT is the government’s consultative structure in the field of external tourism promotion and strategic consultation, composed of representatives of Turismo de Portugal, the regional governments of Madeira and the Azores, the private sector through the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal, regional entities for tourism and Regional Tourism Promotion Offices.