Portugal received about 30 million tourists in 2024, Spain received 94 million, ie the Iberian Peninsula, together, is the largest tourist platform in the world.
“We have to work together to position ourselves as the largest tourist platform in the world,” said Vice President of Tourism Centro de Portugal, Anabela Freitas, in the presentation of the joint strategy of transfronical tourism promotion, which brings together the Centro and Alentejo regions and Spanish extreme.
In the same session, Jesús Vinuales, director of Tourism of Estremadurapraised the partnership “fruit of good relations” between the three regions, arguing thatand Portugal is “the differentiating factor” of tourism In that Spanish region, for allowing a visitor to know two countries.
“Two countries that once turned their backs on each other, are now tightening their hands,” he noticed.
Jose Santos, president of Tourism of Alentejo, said that the transfronical partnership is an “opportunity to transform a territorial product into a commercial product”.
“We need to transform this potential into an effective sales force,” said José Santos, adding that cooperation between the three entities “is an opportunity” to make the territory “at the time of the year he has less demand more competitive.”
According to information provided to Lusa by Turismo Centro de Portugal (TCP), the joint initiatives planned for this year under the partnership include a series of promotional actions, which will take place in June, Madrid and Lisbon, with the media and will have a promotional information for the general public. In November, in Elvas, a business meeting that will bring together entrepreneurs and administrations of the tourism sector of the Center of Portugal, Alentejo and Extremadura are scheduled.
“With this strategy, the traveler has the opportunity to meet two different countries in a single destination. These are regions that have continuity of territory and cultures. Together we can work and do much more for our people, our territories, our identity and culture, ”said TCP.
About tourist products that can be promoted together, the regional tourism entity pointed to natural spaces, such as national parks, biosphere reserves, geoparks, natural reserves, reservoirs and lakes, but also the culture and traditions, the world’s heritage places, the castles scattered throughout the territory, the historical villages or the shale, the gastronomy and the wines.
