'Tourism 2020 - Five Principles for Ambition' is the title of a proposed strategic plan which, if adopted, will be launched by the Government for the 2016-2020 period.
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Adolfo Mesquita Nunes, (pictured) said the ambition is to make Portugal the most agile and dynamic tourist destination within Europe, with the guiding principles of 'People, Freedom, Openness, Knowledge and Collaboration.'
The presentation of the new document took place last Friday at the Ministry of Economy and the plan now has a 30-day period for public comment before being analysed by the Council of Ministers for approval or rejection.
Nunes explained that 'People’ dictates that policies are geared to demand, not to supply; 'Freedom' is the freedom of private enterprise and respect for the choice of the tourist; 'Openness' is to embrace change and deal with it; 'Knowledge' is to understand opportunities in the tourism sector and, 'Collaboration' is for something he called 'multi-culturality in tourism.'
The overall objective of the new strategy is to make Portugal “the most agile and dynamic tourist destination in Europe."
The six point plan includes a 'seasonal mitigation plan' and continued work with regional tourism bodies and the national tourism board.
Nunes includes the elimination of ‘barriers to entry’ into the tourist market but did not specifically mention scrapping his new Alojamento Local registration scheme launched to encourage the registration of private lettings. The scheme has had such a low uptake that it now can be classed as a barrier to entry rather than being of any benefit to owners or tourists.
Nunes wants also to enhance and boost air routes in agreement with French-owned airports operator ANA and to ensure that the Lisbon hub is safe and competitive. This is against a backdrop of TAP’s recent on/off sale to the Gateway company and ANA’s proven ability to charge whatever it deems suitable to airlines, concession holders, car rental companies and taxi drivers.
Mentioning the ‘de-politicising of tourism promotion,’ Nunes broadly hinted that the sharp reduction in the promotional budget for the Algarve region for 2015 indeed was a political decision administered by Turismo de Portugal, rather than one based on objective business criteria.
