"We know that the country estimates that it will reach something like 27 billion in revenue [in tourism] by the end of this year 2024 and the outlook for 2025 is to grow in the order of 9%", said Pedro Machado.

The government official was speaking in Aveiro at the opening panel of a conference dedicated to the 2035 Tourism Strategy, where he declared that “Portugal does not have too many tourists” and that the prospect is to continue growing.

This growth, he argued, entails challenges and risks that need to be taken into account, in terms of labour, which needs to be qualified, the digital transition of companies and also the training of immigrants.

Aging, or pressure on resources, particularly water, are other concerns he highlighted.

“We also want to hear from external partners, namely the most important players”, said Pedro Machado, alluding to the process of building the 2035 Tourism Strategy, which is being developed with public and private entities in the tourism “ecosystem”.

Isabel Damasceno, who chairs the Regional Coordination and Development Commission, when speaking on the panel, assumed that tourism “is a fundamental asset for development and territorial cohesion”.

With regard to the funds that will be available to support the sector, Isabel Damasceno clarified that part will be allocated to inter-municipal communities, with differentiated support whose aggregating element will be the Regional Tourism Entity.

The president of this Entity was responsible for the most demanding intervention, demanding a more equitable distribution of tourist flows generated from Lisbon and Porto airports.

“We are the only region without an airport and we need to distribute these flows throughout the territory”, complained Raul Almeida, remembering that most of the Center’s hundred municipalities are located in the interior.

For the president of the Regional Tourism Entity of the Center, to counteract “the great coastalisation” of tourism, a focus must be made on improving accessibility, whether by rail or even by road, giving as an example that there is not yet a highway connecting the cities from Viseu and Coimbra.

Ribau Esteves, president of the Chamber of Aveiro, host of the conference, referred to the tourist evolution in his municipality, “a unique destination in terms of culture and territorial conditions”.

In this regard, he said that the bet as Portuguese Capital of Culture “is also a successful territorial marketing operation”, defending the importance of identity, democratic values, sustainability and technology, as attraction factors.