More all-inclusive hotels, promote Portugal as a whole and become more price competitive, there are the strategies to follow to regain German tourists.
This German market has always been important to the industry but in recent years Portugal has dropped off the German radar, according to the president of the Association of German Travel Agents, Jürgen Buchy, who is visiting Lisbon.
For Portugal’s tourism industry, Germans represent the second largest market for overnight stays and the fourth largest for revenue generated - 10% of total.
However Buchy stated that Portugal only captures 1.3% of the nearly 34% of Germans who travel abroad each year, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"Portugal has lost its position in the last 10 to 15 years," warned the president of the Association, explaining that "the main product, sun and sand, has lost out to other Mediterranean countries. Spain, the Balearic Islands and Greece are now preferred by Germans, with increasing competition from Turkey and Tunisia.”
"Portugal has more to offer than just Lisbon and the Algarve but this is not widely appreciated by German tourists. More money must be invested in marketing, innovative campaigns and promotional events," suggests Buchy in whose opinion the oversight of Portugal's finances by the Troika "has not had a negative impact," especially because there has been no social unrest.
The way the country is dealing with the crisis has impressed the Germans, who see the effort being made and feel sympathy for the Portuguese."
