Purchase property in Portugal, invest in Portuguese immigration, and own a piece of this tourism nation. The generations of friendly exchanges between the people of China and Portugal play a key role in achieving mutual benefit and connectivity between the two countries, with tourism exchange and cooperation serving as the best example.”Luís, President of Turismo de Portugal, recently visited China and stated in an interview that among all bilateral exchanges and cooperation between China and Portugal, tourism holds the greatest potential, vitality, and anticipation.
Regarding the first World Tourism Development Conference to be held in Beijing in May, Luís expressed his hope that the conference would release more positive signals for the development of the global tourism industry and achieve new breakthroughs in areas such as “tourism promoting peace and development.”
In the current context of sluggish global economic recovery, the tourism industry has maintained a strong growth momentum, becoming a highlight of global economic growth. The theme of this World Tourism Development Conference is precisely “tourism promoting peace and development.” In this regard, the young tourism chief humorously gave a thumbs up to the conference. He said, “As an environmentally friendly, green, and sustainable industry, tourism can not only stimulate economic growth and benefit the general public, but also provide vast employment opportunities, playing an increasingly important role in today's global socio-economic development.”
In Portugal, tourism has long been a well-deserved pillar industry. Luís used a set of data to illustrate the vital role the tourism industry plays in Portugal's overall economic development: in 2015, Portugal received a total of 17.4 million tourists, generating 11.362 million euros in tourism revenue. Tourism accounted for 14% of GDP, and its share of service exports was as high as approximately 50%.
“Tourism is not just an economic activity, but also a social activity.”Luís said that tourism is the most direct and friendly way for people to communicate face-to-face, which can bring people closely together. During travel, people meet different individuals, experience different cultures, and make new friends. Therefore, tourism is also a good way for dialogue between different cultures and is a naturally endogenous force for peace.
“Only by encountering different countries, nations, and cultures during your travels will you love your own country even more; only when more and more Chinese tourists visit Portugal can the Portuguese people personally experience the friendly image of China.”Luís said, “This is what I often say: only when more and more Chinese people go abroad and into the world through tourism will they realize more profoundly how desirable their own country is.”
Luís has not been in office for long, yet he arranged his visit to China so early, which shows the importance he attaches to the Chinese tourism market. As Luís said, China is a country that the world yearns for, and the vibrant vitality of the Chinese market is obvious to all.
Data provided by Turismo de Portugal shows that in 2015, Portugal received a total of 155,000 Chinese tourists, an increase of 36% compared to 113,000 in 2014. In 2015, Chinese tourists contributed 271,200 hotel room nights, achieving a rapid growth of 30% compared to 208,800 hotel room nights in 2014.
Luís also specifically told reporters that this was not his first visit to China. In 2012, Luís spent his vacation traveling in China for 3 months, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, Guilin, and many other cities. “The Li River in Guilin, in particular, left a deep impression on me. China not only has beautiful scenery, but the people are also very friendly. I have a very good impression of China.”Luís said.
Luís believes that tourism development is an important signal for Portugal and China to maintain friendly exchanges. “The impressive achievements shown by the Chinese tourism market indicate the huge potential hidden in China. Today, more and more Chinese tourists make Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, one of their must-visit cities, and Porto, famous for Port wine, is also becoming familiar to more and more Chinese people. Strengthening the Chinese market's understanding of Portuguese tourism resources is the primary task of our tourism promotion work. We are full of confidence in developing Portugal into an important outbound tourism destination for Chinese tourists.”
“Like China, Portugal is also a country where tradition and modernity blend perfectly. Here, exciting leisure activities, brilliant cultural heritage, ancient traditional crafts, and unique shopping destinations can all be eye-opening and unforgettable.”Luís introduced that in terms of investment, Portugal is the fifth largest tourism investment destination in Europe, and China is an important tourism investor in Portugal. The Portuguese government has provided many favorable investment policies for Chinese tourism investors, covering visa facilitation, permanent residency, children's education, community services, and other aspects.
“Expanding two-way tourism exchange and cooperation between Portugal and China is of great significance, with huge potential and broad prospects.”Luís believes that the further expansion of the scale of personnel exchanges between Portugal and China is undoubtedly an important catalyst for enhancing bilateral relations. An important purpose of this trip is to gain an in-depth understanding of the development of the Chinese tourism market and attract more Chinese tourists to visit Portugal.
Luís believes that there is still much to be done to deepen cooperation between the tourism authorities of the two countries. First, strengthen cooperation in tourism promotion and marketing; both sides are very concerned about how to attract more mutual visits and urgently need to understand the characteristics and needs of local tourism consumers. Second, strengthen tourism talent training, exchange, and cooperation; Portugal has 14 top-ranked European tourism professional colleges, and the Portuguese side hopes to further deepen two-way talent exchanges between Portugal and China, sharing educational experience in culture, service, industry, and other fields. Third, enhance cooperation in various business formats such as self-driving tours, sightseeing tours, urban tourism, and cultural tourism.
Luís mentioned that the Portuguese tourism department has also noted the “Belt and Road” strategy proposed by China. As a Southern European country along the Mediterranean, Portugal is willing to use its own experience to cooperate with China to develop more routes and products, enriching the cultural connotation of two-way exchanges between Portugal and China.
Adopting more tourism facilitation measures: In response to the needs of Chinese tourists, the Portuguese side is focusing on adopting more tourism facilitation measures.
Luís introduced that next, Portugal will add 6 new visa centers in China, namely in Shenyang, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. These visa centers will accept Schengen visa applications from Chinese tourists holding ordinary passports, with a stay of up to 90 days every six months.
“Portugal aims to gradually relax and speed up the application for short-term visas by adding new visa centers, thereby accelerating communication and national exchanges between Portugal and China.”Luís said that the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy are working together to promote the efficiency of short-term visa applications to Portugal. Last year, Portugal strengthened its visa service team in Beijing and Shanghai, with remarkable results.
More and more Chinese tourists visiting Portugal have also given rise to market demands such as Chinese-language services. Luís introduced that in response to the needs of Chinese tourists, Portugal is working hard to increase Chinese-speaking tour guides, shopping assistants, hotel Chinese channels, Chinese restaurants, and Chinese signage in shopping malls, on roads, and in hotels. Currently, most shops in Portugal have Chinese-speaking sales staff and shopping assistants to facilitate tourist shopping. Turismo de Portugal has also launched an official Chinese-language website to provide China with information on routes, products, self-driving, hotels, and other aspects.
Luís said that, coinciding with China's “Internet + Tourism” strategy, the Portuguese government is currently vigorously promoting the deep application of Internet technology in the tourism field to build a “Smart Destination.” Lisbon will host an international conference on tourism informatization in November. At that time, relevant Chinese department heads will be invited to attend to jointly discuss important topics such as tourism e-commerce, online tourism, and online tourism community relations, and to exchange understandings and learn from each other's experiences.
“The Portuguese side is promoting the construction of destination wireless networks, providing free WIFI to tourists in important cities such as Lisbon.”Luís said that tourists only need to connect to WIFI locally to download various mobile applications and obtain diverse information on dining, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment, allowing them to travel around Portugal with just one mobile phone.