The event, under the “Destination Watch” initiative, will take place at the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology and mark the first conference to unite Portugal’s seven regional sustainable tourism observatories.

As reported by the organisers, the meeting will focus on how tourism impacts destinations and how better monitoring can turn that information into practical decisions. The observatories will share research, discuss emerging trends and look at common challenges facing the tourism sector.

Cooperation encouragement

“Destination Watch” was created by Turismo de Portugal to encourage cooperation between the regional observatories and strengthen the monitoring of tourism activity and sustainability across the country.

The programme includes contributions from both Portuguese and international specialists.

Among those taking part are a representative of UN Tourism responsible for coordinating the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO), Peter Haxton, a policy analyst at the OECD, and Jakob Hillebrand from the South Tyrol Observatory.

Participants will also hear about the “Portugal Rural” study, carried out by EY, alongside two digital tools designed to monitor tourism activity. One is the ORVE all-in-one platform, developed by CITUR Leiria and presented by Biosphere Portugal, while the other is a platform developed by A2Z that brings together data on pedestrian and cycling flows.

The use of data and tourism intelligence will be further explored during a round-table discussion entitled “From a network of observatories to a network of tourism intelligence”.

Local perspective

The views of residents will also feature in the programme, with the session “When the destination is also home” by André Moura from the Lisbon Tourism Observatory and Francisco Dias from the Sustainable Tourism Observatory of Central Portugal.

This conference will close with conclusions presented by Jaime Serra, professor at the University of Évora and coordinator of the Alentejo Sustainable Tourism Observatory.

The opening session will include representatives from Turismo de Portugal, Turismo Centro de Portugal and Peniche Municipal Council, as well as the rector of the University of Leiria and Oeste, while the Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services and the president of the CCDR Centro are due to attend the closing session.

Turismo de Portugal and Turismo Centro de Portugal jointly organise the conference, which is part of Portugal’s participation in INSTO, the global network of tourism observatories recognised by UN Tourism.

Admission is free, although registration is required.

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