| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
Since the pandemic has released its grip on travel restrictions, the tourism sector in Portugal is in a state of transformation. New trends, challenges, and opportunities are emerging from a post-lockdown mentality while a general need exists among locals to get out and explore their surroundings. A new era of tourism is awakening, and the Ireland Portugal Business Network (IPBN) is pleased to further the conversation among experts to dive into changes and what solutions are on the horizon.
That’s why we have partnered with Turismo de Portugal, Visit Portugal Ireland, and the host of the conference, the Universidade Europeia, for our forthcoming Tourism Conference in Lisbon on Thursday, September 29 from 9h to 13h, with the support of our official media partner TNews, a digital media outlet covering tourism for professionals. The conference will be held in Lisbon at the Campus da Quinta do Bom Nome inside the Universidade Europeia.
Keynote speakers Ralph Victory, Ambassador of Ireland to Portugal, and Luis Araujo, President of Turismo de Portugal will open the conference on the general state of tourism in Ireland and Portugal.
The conference will kick off with its first panel conversation entitled The Transformation and Repositioning of Tourism in Portugal, which will be moderated by Geoffrey Graham, Chair of the IPBN, and will feature the CEO of SATA Group, Luis Rodrigues, Owner & CEO of the Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts and the United Lisbon International School, Chitra Stern, CEO & Owner of Melair IR of Royal Caribbean Group, Francisco Teixeira, and lastly, John Bergin, Director of SkyTours Travel and Golfbreaks. There will be time for questions and answers.
A second panel discussion on How to Tackle and Create Disruption in the Hospitality Sector will feature experts in hospitality management and beyond. Guest speakers include Mark Fenelon, CEO of Clink Hostels — set to open soon in both Lisbon and Dublin, Filipe Santiago, Senior Partner and Managing Director of Consulting at BlueShift, and Sofia Borda de Água de Almeida, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality (FTH), Universidade Europeia.
We will then present new trends, which are appearing and expanding rapidly in the market, from Health tourism, Heritage and the Nomads Tourism with the participation of two of the IPBN members and a representative from the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC), which manages 26 museums, palaces, and monuments while coordinating the Portuguese Museums Network.
IPBN member Nuno Alexandre, Group Relationship Manager of the HPA Group will share his understanding of recent innovations in health as they apply to the tourism market and the rapid growth of Medical Tourism as reported in the TNews in August. Joana Glória, CEO and Founder of Lagos Digital Nomad and also an IPBN member will further discuss how digital nomads play a role in the community and how her workation concept can transform working remotely into therapy for employees and their families.
Finally, the conference will conclude with a closing statement from the Rector of the Universidade Europeia, Hélia Gonçalves Pereira and there will then be time for networking opportunities for attendees to compare notes and make new connections.
Registration is open here.
The event is free of charge and open to IPBN members and non-members.
For more information, please contact Arnold Delville, IPBN General Manager arnold.delville@ireland-portugal.com, +351 969 196 055.
| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
