Matosinhos debates the future of the sector through the lens of green and digital transition
"After two years of difficulties with the pandemic, 2022 was an extraordinary year for the tourism sector. We broke all records, but we need better tourism", said Luís Araújo, President of Turismo de Portugal, at the opening session of "BOOST, Building Better Tourism", an event entirely dedicated to the potential of green tourism and the growth of technology in the sector.
Organized by Nest - Tourism Innovation Center and with the support of the Municipality of Matosinhos, this event brings together, at the Cruise Terminal, between today and tomorrow, more than 50 national and international speakers, 15 startups from various countries and about 200 participants.
The importance of digital transformation in tourism and the challenges of reconciling continuous growth with sustainability and social responsibility are the topics under debate.
The Municipality of Matosinhos is a partner of "BOOST Innovation", a new international innovation scale-up program from Nest in collaboration with the World Tourism Organization. Matosinhos will be the testing ground for numerous pilot projects, with the goal of a future global application.
The mayor, Luísa Salgueiro, pointed out that, in recent years, tourism in Matosinhos has grown significantly, giving the examples of gastronomic tourism around the best fish in the world, sports tourism associated with modalities such as surfing, religious and spiritual tourism (Santiago ways) and event tourism. The mayor defends "a more sustainable tourism, in order to protect those who live and work here".
Aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 85% by 2030, thus anticipating the decarbonization goal set for 2050, the municipality is adopting new measures in the areas of energy, transport, industry, waste, and soil, such as encouraging research and innovation for sustainability in industry, the promotion of a low-carbon industrial economy, land use management, promotion of soft transport, awareness raising for recycling and waste reduction, among many others.
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Nuno Fazenda, also emphasized the need to "think and discuss the future of tourism, making it greener, more digital and better". According to the governor, tourism represents 20% of the total exports of services. "Tourism is a sector of excellence and, after two years of pandemic, it is a sector of resilience," he added.
The conference was also attended by the president of the Municipal Assembly of Matosinhos, Palmira Macedo, the councilor for Economic Development, Tourism and Trade of the Matosinhos City Council, Marta Pontes, and the councilor for Sports, Vasco Pinho.
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