There must be convergence of the Portugal Brand and territorial brands – Marketeer
“The Portugal brand is the brand that has the most value abroad.” This is the conviction of Lídia Monteiro, Commercial and Marketing Director of Turismo de Portugal, who this morning participated in the round table “The Importance of Territorial Brands”, at the 17th Marketeer Conference with the theme “The Value that Brands give to Brands ”. The professional guarantees that the Portugal brand is, today, in most tourist source markets, leader and that it has a high standard of differentiation, taking the value to other Portuguese brands. “People want to know. And knowing it is knowing its territories and how different regions. And, in running well, it often results in a recommendation », he underlined. Also because, he recalled, this brand has been built based on a purpose and has value in people, creating a virtuous and winning circle. “Welcoming everyone well, respecting differences is the purpose, but it is being ensured by the people.”
A work that only makes sense if there is a connection between the Portugal brand and the territories, as the uniqueness lies in the destinations. «When we are representing ourselves abroad, there is the brand Portugal and the seven regions», recalls Pedro Machado, president of Turismo Centro de Portugal, present at the same debate. And Inácio Ribeiro, vice-president of Turismo Porto e Norte, adds that the work that has been done by all regions and by Turismo de Portugal has involved promoting the various territories, with their particularities, but always aiming to the same way. All in a relationship that is characterized as excellent between the various players: «There is a convergence of work to enhance the brand’s value. The Portugal brand wins with the regions and with this convergence of work and promotion of the Portugal brand and the territories”, he guarantees.
The responsible for Turismo de Portugal recalls that this is only achieved because all the regions involved were involved in the discussion and definition of the strategy, which, in this way, is shared by all. The work process then involves the issuing of guidelines by Turismo de Portugal, which are then worked on by each of the regions, which also learn from what is being done by the others. “The regional authenticity of each of them adds value to the global”, says Lídia Monteiro, to which Pedro Machado adds: “We have to communicate with the truth, we cannot defraud.”
The responsible for Turismo de Portugal defends that this authenticity must be added layers of innovation (today we are different from 100 years ago) – initiatives to promote startups in tourism, for example.
And if, yes, it is true that the regions are competitors, Pedro Machado jurisdiction that they do not see each other as adversaries. «We differentiate by the products we have to reach consumers so they can choose. It’s healthy competition. It’s not a battle. »
As a matter of fact, it is not uncommon for regions to unite in order to enhance the best they have so that the tourist can take the best experience of the destination. «In the attitude of managing territories, we have an innovation that has to do with this management in a healthy way. Tourists know no borders and the longer they stay here, the more revenue they bring to the country”, highlighted Lídia Monteiro, who argues that tourism must increasingly be a factor of cohesion and, in this sense, bring people to live in territories . Having tourism throughout the year enhances the economic development of these regions.
Importance of the domestic tourist
Despite all the negatives it brought, a pandemic avoided opening a window of opportunity among the Portuguese, leading to the low-density territories gaining value. «We have experiences in the interior in which the perceived value is much greater», says the responsible for Centro Turismo. This is because if, at first, the communication in the region was focused on appealing to tourists that it was time to stay at home, then, with a progressive opening, the same tourists were provided to responsibly deconfine the region. «We couldn’t stop communicating», he says, as it was necessary to keep marks in the tourists’ minds.
The responsible for the Porto and North region corroborates by saying that, in the medium and long term, it helps to enhance the brand so that memory reminds us of the region at the time of decision-making. Because the pandemic will pass and the capacity of the equipment (hotels and restaurants) is installed, it has not disappeared.
During this period there was an increase in demand for inland and low-density destinations. It was «a whole new territory that opened up to the national tourist and credit because the seed remained there and surprised our own countrymen», says Lídia Monteiro, recalling that it is also a way of being able to surprise in different places instead of concentrating them on large centers that, it should be remembered, even led to some discomfort among residents due to excessive tourism.
Text by Maria João Lima