“We are no longer a country just looking for sun and beaches. We have been fighting against the seasonality of our tourism and we must continue to take advantage of all the natural, heritage, religious potential, and various economic activities in our country”, said the government official.

Luís Montenegro shared this idea in a speech given at the inauguration of a hotel in Vila do Conde, Porto district, which resulted in the conversion of the former Santa Clara monastery into a five-star unit, through an investment of 19 million euros, under the Revive program, designed to value and recover unused State heritage.

“This process was only possible through interaction and work between the public and private sectors. This is a building with historical heritage, but which the State, by itself, was not capable of preserving and enhancing. The fact that there was a confluence and diligence between public and private entities, resulted in a bold and risky investment, but one that will give economic visibility to Vila do Conde and the North of Portugal”, added the Prime Minister.

The government official said it was very comforting to look ahead to 2023, with 30 million guests in Portugal, 70 million overnight stays, 23 billion euros of activity and revenue generated by Tourism.

“The country still has a lot of potential to be used, so we have this capacity to take the risk of joining and aggregating. It is important to preserve our history and boost our culture. This space reflects this, it is important to have economic offers that generate synergies so that everyone benefits from the product of this investment” he concluded.