Turismo de Portugal (TdP) recently concluded its multi-city roadshows in the 4 major cities of India – Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and New Delhi with the announcement of opening their first India office in the capital city of New Delhi. This effectively shows how important the Indian market is for TdP and the recognition of its potential.
With 15 years of experience in the tourism sector, Ms. Claudia Matias has taken over as the Director, TdP, India Office, effective January 15, 2020.
Ms. Matias commented, “I am absolutely thrilled to have been given this fantastic opportunity to represent Visit Portugal in amazing India. Without question, Portugal is a magnificent and diverse destination for Indians to discover and it will be my main mandate to build awareness for reasons to ‘travel now’, for a longer period of stay , while and across Portugal. I look forward to working closely with the Press and Trade commercial partners to improve product knowledge about the destination and help build their expertise. I would work towards creating synergies for both countries, with such special historical bond; yet so visible still in Portugal and India. The focus is working with the Indian tourism industry in the coming years, establishing successful partnerships with commercial intermediaries to build a range of products that can be distributed to customers and drive conversions”.
The roadshows were spread over 5 days with attendance from a large number of Travel Agents, Tour Operators & Wedding Planners in attendance in each city who actively participated in the format of pre-scheduled B2B meetings with 13 suppliers from Portugal – a mix of Hoteliers and DMCs, along with the TdP team.
The 13 suppliers from Portugal were – HF Hotels, Media Travel & Logistics, TQ DMC, All Around Globe, Hotel Roma, Meliá Hotels Portugal, Fatima Hotels Group, IHG Portugal, Lutecia Smart Design Hotel, Sana Hotels, Corinthia Lisbon, Sheraton Lisboa Hotels & SPA and Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts.
Each roadshow concluded with 6 lucky draw winners in each city who received a combination of “experience Portugal vouchers” from the suppliers followed by a networking dinner.
The aim of the roadshows was to increase visibility and awareness of Portugal in India and to promote it as an inspiring destination – a Southern European country that offers a unique culture, great food, year-round festivals, and incredible sights and sounds at a pocket-friendly price. The intent to educate and motivate the focused invitee list of preferred travel agents, tour operators, and trade partners and update their knowledge about Portugal, the products it has to offer, USP’s of the destination, exchange rate, flights and visas and how it caters to different segments of the Indian travellers, was fruitfully achieved.
