Turismo de Portugal have launched their first campaign aimed at attracting LGBT individuals to Portugal. The project is a result of close work alongside Algarve-based company KOBU Agency. "After all, the best way to travel is to feel." This is the motto of the campaign, taken from a verse by Álvaro de Campos, heteronym of poet Fernando Pessoa.
The new Turismo de Portugal campaign was conceptualized with the aim of promoting the country as a reference tourist destination for members of the LGBT community.
Over the past nine months, KOBU Agency has worked hard to create Turismo de Portugal’s new campaign as part of the Proudly Portugal project, an initiative started by Variations – which is Portugal's LGBT-focused Trade and Tourism Association.
The campaign presents Portugal as a reference LGBT-friendly tourist destination, promoting the country to the rest of the world’s populace. “We estimate that in Portugal the LGBT tourism sector will turn over 2 billion euros this year, based on figures from the World Tourism Organization. In 2018, our country received nearly two million lesbian, gay, and transgender tourists, ”explains Diogo Vieira da Silva, spokesman for Variations.
The campaign reflects an advanced Portugal in terms of legal protection of the rights of LGBT people but, above all, a country recognized for the quality of its diverse tourism potential: from family travel to solo travel, there are always vibrant places that exude history, but where love and freedom of expression is accepted.
Although there is still a way to go, in early 2019 Portugal was named as the most gay-friendly destination by the Spartacus Gay Travel Index. And also one the safest countries for LGBT travellers, according to a ranking done by travel index Asher & Lyric.
This campaign therefore comes at an ideal time to position the country within this diversified market segment. Statistically speaking, LGBT individuals are more likely to want to travel compared to the average person, and display above average consumption patterns. However, available travel destinations are limited due to the desire to feel safe and welcomed, which is not the case in many holiday hotspots.
“When we were starting the project with Variações, we concluded that the best way to approach the campaign would be to contact LGBT tourists already passing through Portugal, to try to understand how they perceive our country. Through social media and interviews, we spoke to tourists from over 60 countries, which, in addition to strategically informing us about the campaign, allowed us to collect and share user-generated content that already feeds the project's social networks”, explains Nuno Tenazinha, CEO at Faro-based KOBU Agency.
The campaign’s video features various individuals from different age groups and profiles, and was shot between June and July in Lisbon, Porto, Peniche, Faro, Quinta do Lago, and Loulé.
Click HERE for the campaign video
