| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
The 2024 IPBN Tourism Conference did more than just bring together some of the top minds from Ireland and Portugal's tourism sectors together, it highlighted synergies and strategies that emboldened new players to work toward a common goal. The conference began with IPBN Chairman of the Board Geoffrey Graham, who delivered words of welcome and remembered the IPBN's first Tourism Conference in Lisbon where, he said, "Luis Arrujo, the then president of Turismo de Portugal looked toward Ireland as an inspiration for their tourism strategy." This laid the groundwork for innovators in the tourism sector from both Ireland and Portugal to come together and share their expertise.
Geoffrey welcomed Adrian Bridge, CEO of the Fladgate Partnership and the owner of World of Wine (WoW), the host of the conference to the stage. Originally founding the Yeatman luxury hotel in 2011, Adrian is no stranger to the region. “Getting people to the Douro valley [and] understand what it is we do…is complex,” he told attendees. He continued, “One of the key important factors for growing sustainable tourism…is about content. It’s about what people do when they come. We’ve moved away from this word ‘tourist’ which is a very passive action…because it’s so generic. And we want people who are actually travelers…people who come to interact and discover.” Over 10 years, Adrian converted old warehouses into museums and experiences under the WoW moniker, in a town of predominately religious buildings and palaces. Adrian hopes to use WoW as a catalyst for urban regeneration and has graciously shown the network how it can seamlessly pivot to provide a modern and welcoming space for conferences like ours.
Next, Luís Pedro Martins, President of Porto and North of Portugal Tourism Board took the stage to discuss his strategy for promoting the north of Portugal region with all public and private partners working together. “Data-driven strategies focused on the target audience have the potential to place the region on the radar of loyal travelers. [This] is what we must adopt…to promote the region in an innovative and competitive manner.” He mentioned a three-pronged approach to succeed in their mission: “Cooperation with associates, investment in technology, and knowledge creation: sharing and modernization of visitor assistance.” This approach will allow the region to adapt toward the new tourist profile throughout its diverse regions: Porto, Douro, Trás os Montes, and the Minho. To this end, amazing programs, innovations, incentives, and more have been planned under a strategic framework for regional business development that extends beyond tourism. For 2025, they will approach emerging international markets, initiating a joint promotion project with Galicia (two countries, one brand), targeting the emerging LGBTQ+ segment and sports segments like surfing and golf, building tools for the travel journey, achieving digital maturity and sustainability objectives, and generating economic benefits in the region. The rising tourism numbers inspire both satisfaction, and the need to continue pushing forward to make tourism beneficial for both locals and visitors alike.
Next, IPBN board member Rachael Milne sat down with Rita Marques, Invited Faculty Member and Program Director at the Porto Business School, Champion of the Innovation Tourism Hub and Former Secretary of State for Tourism. She began by saying that the Livraria Lello, for which she is head of the Foundation, hosts 1.2 million guests annually and is the top three most visited places in Portugal. The bookstore is planning an expansion for the first time in 100 years thanks to Alvaro Siza Vieria's scheme to extend the 300m footprint to the next door property to help with visitor demand. But large queues in Porto doesn’t mean tourism is at its peak, according to Rita. She said, "We have to guarantee that tourists don’t just stay in Porto, but they branch out to Gaia, Matosinhos, and more to create a more sustainable tourism system." This concept is also what Rita is championing at the Tourism hub at Porto Business School. “We still dream. There are a lot of dimensions we need to work on: quality, and authenticity and sustainability...that’s why we are still attracting investment to the sector.”
At Porto Business School, Rita has launched a migrant observatory to see what kind of talent policies they have. She found that 40% of Portuguese tourism companies don’t have policies for attracting and retaining migrant talent. From there, she is leading more training initiatives to change these numbers. Rita suggests we need 20% more quality-trained people working in the sector to meet the standards. “Tourism is about people. We really need to retain talent working on the teams that are hosting the tourists, and most of them are locals, so I think it’s a win-win.”
As Secretary of State for commerce and tourism, Rita remembered her colleagues were jealous as tourism was going up and up...but then the pandemic came and the jealousy dissipated. Rita said, "I wanted to lead, not simply survive." Her first initiative was to get a clean and safe stamp certification process up and running- the first of its kind globally, followed by the European Commission which carbon-copied the model.
Concluding with her thoughts on what makes Porto so special, Rita says firstly, it’s the people. "They are special, humble, and helpful, and generous. Secondly, there’s an artistic culture there with high levels of creativity in light of fewer resources in the city. The multidimensional city is a year-round delight to discover for tourists, most of which are repeat customers." In summary: Porto’s value proposition is elastic, and that value proposition should expand northward for an even better experience for locals, business, visitors, and sustainability.
Finally, the panel discussion took the stage featuring special guests Francisco Calheiros, President of Associação dos Amigos do Caminho Português de Santiago, and Miriam Kennedy, Head of Wild Atlantic Way at Fáilte Ireland, moderated by John Paul Prior, IPBN Porto Chairman. This panel focused on the similarities between Ireland and Portugal along the two countries’ coastlines. In 2011 during the global crisis, Miriam began trying to solve the issue of a decimated west coast of Ireland. "People had stopped coming," she said, "Even to the triangle between Dublin, Galway, and Cork." On top of that, one thousand people a day were emigrating from Ireland, and the tourism authority had come to the conclusion that something had to be done. “Necessity is the mother of invention. We had a good, solid tourism industry on the west coast…but not much to unite the counties along [it]…" We named it the Wild Atlantic Drive but didn’t want to alienate the cyclists, so changed it to Wild Atlantic Way." They were granted the money with the caveat that the project had to be completed in two years, so they had to move fast– and they did.
Shifting focus to the North of Portugal, Francisco told attendees that the biggest concentration of tourism is in Porto, and the challenge to expand it north is ever-present. Some highlights in the north of Portugal are the Camino de Santiago, a network in Portugal of manor houses (with which Francisco is involved in expanding), and the Gerés National Park, to name a few, especially for horseback riding, cycling, hiking, surfing, wine, and gastronomy. “The communities are very much interested in promoting and developing their skills [as] people are coming for religious and cultural purposes simultaneously." Circuits are being organized in North Portugal that can attract and help facilitate more visitors to the region.
Back to the Irish coast, Miriam set criteria for what had to be done along the 2.5K kilometer route, “And we stuck to our guns on that…We even had a village in Donegal…that didn’t fit the criteria and they promised us that ‘if we can widen the road in time for the signs can they be on it?' And they did it.” The unsung heroes were the local authorities who offered local engineers and stood in community halls up and down the coast. Miriam said, "We used the stories the communities told us to tell the tourists at the 180 scenic discovery points along the way." Communities saw themselves in the brand and told their stories and gained a newfound confidence and pride as a result. Miriam advised “once you have criteria, you need to stick to it...do not compromise on the wildness…where we can re-wild and create biodiversity, we are doing it...The second thing is that the volume and value of visitors is still very different…so taking an active role as a tourism authority in managing visitors [and investing in infraestructure] is vital.”
So how important is infrastructure? What is the future? Miriam said there’s still a long way to go in the North of Ireland. Getting there is one thing, and getting around is another. “The flip side to that is it also makes those destinations less visited, more authentic, further away…the authenticity of it is really because of the fact that it…is new to tourism…they [also] tend to be a bit friendlier…”
Miriam summarized the discussion by saying, "When you’re new, you get to choose, learn from history, and make sure the type of tourist you’re inviting to your region is the type of tourist you want to attract."
Following a well-deserved networking coffee break, the Tourism Conference finished with three fascinating Business Success Stories highlighting the Innovation and Sustainability of the Interior of the Region. The links below each relate to their presentations:
These business success stories were introduced by Isabel Vellozo Ferreira, Partner at Vellozo Ferreira e Associados and IPBN Executive Partner.
You can listen to the introductions, the conversation and the panel discussion, which have been produced as podcasts on Season 1, Episodes 54, 55, and 56 respectively, on the IPBN Spotify Channel.
Once again, thank you to all our special guests for making this edition truly illuminating!
| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
