WYD contributes to the promotion of tourism in Portugal, says president of the Hospitality Association
“It will certainly be a great event for Portugal. And an event also with immediate and future impacts for hotels and tourism”, says Bernardo Trindade, president of AHP – Associação de Hotelaria de Portugal – in an interview with Renascença, about the World Youth Day, which takes place in Lisbon and Loures. , from 1st to 6th of August of the next year.
Recently, for a two-year president, Bernardo Trindade justifies the “immediate impact”, with the presence of 3,000 journalists, 800 bishops and cardinals, more than a million young people.
“What the history of the Jornadas has told us is that, later on, a quarter of these young people travel to get to know the country. This event, so important on several levels, is not confined to the space in which it takes place. It will be an important moment for a record of Portugal and will arouse the interest of many people visiting for the future”.
An event in which the Association is also already attended. Through the Click2Portugal.com online platform, AHP members register and promote their hotels. The reservation can be made through the link to the website of the hotel chosen by the customer.
Bernardo Trindade also highlights the fact that AHP is partnering with an entity (Church) that also “due to its credibility helps to promote Portugal as a quality and safe tourist destination”.
Congresses, festivals and major events are back
The hotel industry in large cities such as Lisbon and Porto was the one that was most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the confinements. Until 2019, Portugal managed to hold several world-class congresses and events, with media attention for the Websummit and which filled the hotel units, especially in the two cities and surroundings. Significant in terms of revenue also because a good part of it was scheduled for the low or medium seasons, thus breaking some seasonality.
“Events and business tourism” was efficient with the increasing weight that the pandemic struck. Now, with the knowledge of the meetings of the period, the web is already the place for pandemic meetings.
“With the possibility of wanting to be together at the reopening and with the power to want to touch each other, people may want to be together, to dialogue in a more spontaneous way. And we are, in fact, feeling an important return at the level of meetings and groups in our units. This evolution is taking place months after the month, confidence is going some difference and in this segment you also feel the recovery”, says Trindade.
For the hotelier, Portugal is reaping the results of the work done in 2019 (and even units during the) of requalification of the destination, preparation of infrastructure and improvement as hotels to receive business segments, pandemics and events.
Hospitality insists on the need for a large Congress Center in Lisbon
As a matter of principle, against the application of tourist taxes by the municipalities, the AHP ended up accepting and participating in the creation process on the application of monies and decisions arising from the tax, in Lisbon.
It started as 1 euro/night up to a maximum of 7 euros in 2016. In 2019, it rose to 2 euros. This “2nd euro” has a very specific objective: the construction of a large-scale Congress Center that will bring more foreigners to Lisbon.
Last week, during the luncheon of the Association in which he was the guest, the president of the autarchy was questioned by the former leader of the AHP, Raúl Martins, on the subject. Carlos Moedas replied that it is an issue to be addressed, but that the Center will not be completed in its four-year municipal mandate.
To Renascença, Bernardo Trindade, de-dramatizes the issue, referring that the AHP has a notion that there is a set of interventions that are being made with money from the Tourism Fund (resulting from the fee) and that they are a lot. From urban hygiene, which happened more with people in circulation, to interventions at a higher level of heritage, such as the completion of the wing of Palácio da Ajuda where the Royal Treasury Museum is installed. “These are investments. Because no other activity contributes to the tourist tax like hotels, in which when the customer checks out, he pays the tax at the hotel units”.
But AHP will continue to monitor the dossier, making proposals and suggestions even regarding the location. “Because we understand that it is fundamental for the future of Lisbon, namely for this segment (of congresses). We will always remember Mr. President of this importance”, guarantees Bernardo Trindade.