BTL Tourism Fair returns to Lisbon to boost sector recovery

Lisbon, 15 Mar The Lisbon Tourism Exchange (BTL), the largest trade fair in the sector in Portugal, returns to the capital this Wednesday to boost the sector's recovery after two years of pandemic and with the presence of more than 60 international destinations, including several Spanish ones. BTL 2022, which will run until Sunday, wants to “make a decisive contribution to the recovery of this important sector of the national economy”, according to the organizers, who expect to repeat the 70,000 visitors it had in 2019. The 2019 edition was the last edition of the event, which was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, and 1,400 Portuguese and foreign exhibitors are returning this week to the Lisbon International Fair venue. SPANISH DESTINATIONS Among the international ones there will be several Spanish destinations, such as Extremadura, which will have its own stand to attract professionals and visitors to Portugal, the region's first international tourist source market. On this first day, the exhibition of sacred art “The Ages of Man” will be presented, which will be held in the Cathedral of Plasencia between May and December. The event will be attended by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Nuria Flores; the General Director of Tourism of Extremadura, Francisco Martín Simón, and the Spanish Ambassador to Portugal, Marta Betanzos Roig. Other Spanish destinations have also confirmed their presence, such as Andalusia or the Costa del Sol. WINE TOURISM AND NATURE The program, with a wide range of conferences on the latest trends, highlights the commitment to nature tourism and wine tourism, two of the branches of the sector that are gaining the most ground in Portugal. This year there will be an area dedicated to the seven Portuguese geoparks and actions will be carried out to promote national biodiversity. Knowledge about Portuguese wine tourism will also be “deepened” through the dissemination of regions, brands, castes, faces and projects, “elements that give a unique ability to attract more and better tourists,” the organization points out. The fair will have a space dedicated to companies active in the innovation sector, the BTL LAB, with an area in charge of the Portuguese Tourism Innovation Centre (NEST) and a stage dedicated exclusively to sustainability with more than 50 start-ups. In collaboration with the government agency Turismo de Portugal and the airline TAP, a programme of international buyers has been organized, which already has a “strong support” of the main players in the sector. PROFESSIONALS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC The event will have two days limited to professionals in the sector only, on Wednesday and Thursday, and the rest of the days will also be open to the general public. Tourism professionals will also be able to benefit from the Employment Exchange organized on 18 and 19 March, to bring companies and candidates together. The BTL was last held in 2019, when it exceeded 70,000 visitors, almost half of whom were professionals and 18% attended the fair for the first time. CHIEF pfm