Turismo de Portugal is off to Israel "to explore business opportunities in the tourist market with great growth potential," according to the Ministry for the Economy.
The tourism trade mission to be led by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Adolfo Mesquita Nunes, will take along nearly two dozen companies from the tourism industry.
The purpose is to sell Portugal’s tourism offer and by setting up shop in Tel Aviv the mission will be able to contact over 80 professionals in the tourism trade in Israel, in the hope of "flows of Israeli tourists to Portugal."
The Ministry of the Economy explains that this mission "is part of the Government and Tourism of Portugal’s strategy which seeks out new tourist flows and good opportunities for tourism in Portugal."
This type of tourism trade mission aims to have more success that Portugal’s presence at fairs and should offer a greater return on investment.
National companies participating have the opportunity directly to engage with tour operators and agents.
One of the pillars of the National Strategic Plan for Tourism is religious tourism. The mission to Tel Aviv also marks the launch of a specific strategy in this market which is considered a priority as there are between 300 and 330 million religious tourists per year in the world.
"The novelty effect, safety, value for money, cuisine, and Jewish cultural heritage are competitive elements that quickly can put Portugal on the right track in this market," according to the Ministry.
Israel marks the start of Portugal’s tourism trade missions for 2014, a year when 38 workshops will be held in 37 cities in 19 countries.
Portuguese tourism companies are all for it with 943 companies signing up in the first two weeks.
