By: Jessica Ferreira
Turismo de Portugal will resume its promotional activities in China at the end of May and a roadshow is already planned in four Chinese cities, counting with the participation of around 120 Chinese tourism companies.
The roadshow will start in Macao, passing thereafter through Guangzhou (Canton) and Beijing, ending in Shanghai, where Turismo de Portugal will also take part in ITB China with a stand promoting Portugal.
“We’re going to resume a practice we had before the pandemic. We used to do an annual roadshow of the most relevant cities from the point of view of potential tourist flows to Portugal, with Portuguese companies,” informed Lídia Monteiro, a member of Turismo de Portugal’s Board of Directors.
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Monteiro said that the aim of this roadshow is “to put Portuguese companies in direct contact with potential clients who will naturally provide them with business for China”.
Registration for the event is underway and Lídia Monteiro informed that there is “great interest from Chinese operators in Portugal”, with an expectation that the average of 120 Chinese companies expected at the roadshow may even be exceeded in some cities.
Around 20 Portuguese companies are expected to take part in the initiative, although the “complex logistics” of these events prevent more Portuguese companies from participating, she added.
The member of the Board of Directors of Turismo de Portugal stressed how strategic the Chinese market is for Portugal and referenced how, between 2014 and 2019, this market more than tripled in Portugal, in a growth that was only interrupted by the pandemic but which, with the end of COVID-19, is already showing a strong recovery.
With a growth of the Chinese market of over 300% in Portugal, rising again by 150% last year, expectations regarding the performance of this market in Portugal are extremely positive.
