Introducing Rita Marques, Speaker at the IPBN Tourism Conference

Charisma, care, and capability to take center stage

Rita Marques is the current President of Livraria Lello Foundation and the former Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce, and Services in Portugal from 2019 to 2022, and a member of the Executive Committee of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). 

She is the Champion of the Innovation Tourism Hub at the Porto Business School, University of Porto, and is a well-respected expert in the Just Transition Platform and a tireless Group Leader in the Harnessing Talent Platform at the European Commission. Suffice it to say, her input is coveted within tourism and governance, and the IPBN is delighted to have her as a guest speaker at the upcoming IPBN Tourism Conference based in Porto on November 14 in an exclusive conversation with IPBN Board Member Rachael Milne.

Rita commented on the challenges of building back the tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time she held office. About the work done during the lockdown, Rita told Ireland’s Travel Trade Network, “We had more than 3 Billion Euros injected into the sector with layoff schemes trying to preserve jobs with aid to the liquidity of the companies because there was no revenue, no receipts, and so we had a huge effort to make the sector stay alive…We knew there was a demand issue and as soon as the demand pops up, we needed to be ready.” 

Bolstered by her work history as CEO of Portugal Ventures, Executive Director of Porto Business School’s MBA and Post Graduate programs, Coordinator of the University of Porto’s Project Unit, and Manager of the Asia-Pacific Market and of the Technology and Tourism sectors at Agência Portuguesa para o Investimento, Rita was primed to take on the challenge of rebuilding that the pandemic halted to a full stop. 

As a former Senior Consultant at Microsoft Corporation in the United States, a specialist at ANACOM, and as the Chair of the Portuguese Youth Foundation Supervisory Board Rita was well versed in bringing back her talents as a consultant in innovation, public financing, internationalization, and foreign direct investment, and seamlessly apply it to her role in government.

This will be the second time the IPBN and Rita have crossed paths at our events, the first when she was a keynote speaker at the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Portugal in 2022, attended by Ireland’s Ambassador to Portugal H.E. Ralph Victory, members of the network, and supporting staff of the Irish Embassy in Lisbon (short video above). The Seminar on Bilateral Ireland-Portugal Economic Relations took place at the Union of Trade and Service Associations, Casa do Comércio with opening remarks by Robert Troy TD, Ireland’s Minister for Trade and Promotion. We are honored to welcome her back to the stage and are thrilled to further broaden our connections.

We invite you all to hear from this charismatic and innovative leader by registering for the IPBN 3rd Annual Tourism Conference here.