The
Reactivate Tourism | Build the Future Action Plan, approved by the Council of Ministers and presented by the Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, on 21 May 2021, aims to encourage the recovery of the national tourism sector. The plan aims to be a guiding script for the tourism sector, public and private, which actions are fully integrated with the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Portugal 2030 Strategy, thus ensuring a concerted strategy for the recovery of the national economy.
As the country's main export sector, tourism has a major contribution to make to the country's recovery, to its modernisation and to strengthening its competitiveness at European level. Due to its characteristics and need to interact with other dimensions of the economy (e.g. real estate, health, agriculture, wine, industry, transport, trade, services), the tourism sector is particularly suited to leverage the global development of the Portuguese economy.
After the huge impact of the pandemic on national and global tourism activity, there is an urgent need to implement a plan that can put the sector back on the path of pre-COVID growth and, at the same time, prepare for the future by providing it with mechanisms to make it more responsible, more sustainable and more resilient.
With people at the centre of the strategy, there are 4 axes of action - support companies, promote safety, generate business and build the future - and it is made up of specific actions that, in the short, medium and long-term, will allow the sector to be transformed and positioned at a higher level of value creation, contributing significantly to GDP growth and to a fairer distribution of wealth. This plan sets the goal of surpassing EUR 27MM in tourism revenue by 2027.
// Support companies
Immediately, companies at financial level (through flexible instruments adapted to the demands of the moment) and at operational strategy level, keeping the value chain available and ready to resume activity.
// Promote safety
On two sides of the tourist activity: companies and tourists. It is necessary to know the (new) needs of tourists and prepare companies for them, stimulating safety behaviour, both in the activity and in the behaviour of those who work in the sector.
// Generate business
In the short or medium/long-term, stimulating markets, restoring connectivity, facilitating purchases, informing consumers.
// Build the future
Through projects that accelerate the construction of the tourism of the future, which is intended to be more intelligent, more responsible and more sustainable. In fact, sustainability (social, environmental or economic) of the sector is a transversal value that permeates the entire Action Plan.
Turismo de Portugal will be the main responsible for the materialisation of this Plan. Many projects will be developed to ensure the effective resumption of tourism activity and to ensure that the tourism sector continues to be one of Portugal's main economic activities.
