December 20, 2020 - Tourism promotion in the corona era has been a challenge. One tourist board has been doing things rather well - lessons from Portugal.
Is it worth even promoting tourism during a pandemic, with future travel so uncertain?
This year has brought unprecedented challenges to the tourism industry, from event management to marketing and promotion. While many destinations chose to remain quiet or engage in campaigns such as #CroatiaLongDistanceLove, the best Croatian destination for 2020 promotion in my opinion was Zagreb, and the Croatian capital responded brilliantly to the twin disasters of the pandemic and earthquake with some very innovative marketing on a budget. Campaigns such as Zagreb Loves You and From Zagreb Balconies and the new Around Zagreb platform are but some examples.
One tourism country stood out for me in 2020 for its tourism promotion. So much so in fact, that we have decided to visit when we next get round to that foreign holiday - Portugal.
Portugal first came on my tourism radar this year back in April, being the first, along with South Africa, to post a promotional video aimed at the post-corona world, with a global captive audience locked down and yearning to travel.
Both Portugal and South Africa's videos stood out at the time as beacons of hope and positivity. I remember discussing Portugal as a place to visit with the family a couple of times over lunch.
I was back to Portugal in August while researching new avenues for Croatian tourism to move it a more sustainable and 12-month destination. Portugal is doing everything right - Lessons from Portugal: Taking Advantage of the Retirement Lifestyle Opportunity.
And, as we approach the end of the year, Visit Portugal is featuring large in my social media feed. Either Facebook has been listening to our family luncheon conversations, or perhaps our coverage of digital nomads is the reason, but I have been peppered with Visit Portugal ads in the last 24 hours, a different one every time I go on Facebook.
So why visit Portugal if you are a remote worker? The food perhaps. Head to the Algarve and 10 Michelin Star restaurants.
Perhaps you are a hiker. More than 190 miles of trails to explore when you close down the laptop.
Looking for a little socially-distanced sport after work. There is none so socially distanced as golf, and the Algarve is one of the premier golf regions of Europe.
A culture vulture? More than 75 museums and art galleries from your temporary home in Porto.
Or what better way to kick start the day in the Lisbon region than a little surfing from one of 25 surfing spots.
What I particularly liked was that each ad led to the same landing page, which summarised the tourism offer of Visit Portugal in 12 sections, each with their own short intro paragraph and dedicated promo video: the cities Lisbon and Porto; sun, sea and beach; walking and cycling trips; paths of faith; surfing; golf; wines; gastronomy; UNESCO World Heritage Sites; read Portugal; travelling in safety; and the people. In 30 minutes, accompanied by some great short videos, the entire offer for remote workers is presented.
When do flights from Zagreb to Lisbon start up again?
