To be able to operate in Portugal as a Travel and Tourism Agency, an entity must be dully registered before the National Register of Travel and Tourism Agencies (“RNAVT”).
In Portugal, any individual or legal person who acts as an operator and carries out the abovementioned activities as their main activity will be considered a travel and tourism agency or agent:
- The remunerated organisation and sale of travel packages and the rendering of related travel services;
- Representing other travel and tourism agencies (domestic or foreign), as well as intermediating in the sale of their products;
- Booking services in tourist resorts and local accommodation establishments;
- Selling tickets and booking seats on any means of transportation;
- Receiving, transferring and assisting tourists.
These entities can also carry out the following activities on an ancillary basis:
- Obtaining collective identity certificates, visas or other documents necessary for travelling;
- Organising congresses and similar events;
- Booking and selling tickets for shows and other public events;
- Carrying out foreign exchange transactions for the exclusive use of clients, in accordance with the rules governing foreign exchange activity;
- Intermediation in the signing of rental contracts for passenger vehicles without a driver;
- The commercialisation of travel and luggage insurance in conjunction with and within the scope of other services provided by the company.
To carry out tourist entertainment or maritime-tour operator activities on a commercial basis in Portugal, it is also necessary to be duly registered before the National Register of Tourist Entertainment Agents (“RNAAT”) – and this second registration process will have its own particular requirements:
Tourist entertainment companies may carry out the following activities:
- The organisation and sale of recreational, sporting or cultural activities, in natural surroundings or in fixed installations designed for this purpose, of a leisurely nature and of tourist interest to the region in which they take place;
- Nature tourism activities, i.e. tourist entertainment activities carried out in classified areas or other areas with natural values, recognised as such by the competent authority;
- Maritime tourism activities (which can also be carried out by Maritime-Tourist Operators, when done exclusively).
All of these registration processes, of Travel and Tourism Agencies, Tourist Entertainment Agents or Maritime-Tourist Operators (before the RNAVT or the RNAAT) will consist of a prior communication carried out online, on a specific form, accessing the reserved area on the National Tourism Register’s website (https://rnt.turismodeportugal.pt/RNT/), and requiring accreditation on the platform – involving the attachment of various documents and other elements in digital format.
For more information, or advice, please contact Teresa Patrício & Associados, Sociedade de Advogados / Law Firm on:
Lisbon - Avenida Almirante Gago Coutinho, n.º 96, 1700-031 Lisboa
T: +351 217 981 030
Loulé - Urbanização da Boa Entrada, Rua Natália Correia, n.º 2, Loja A, Edifício Atlântico Plaza, 8100-724 Loulé
T: +351 289 143 189
