UNESCO distinction brought projection, tourists and investment to the Douro

“ A classification of course that brought more tourists to the territory, much more investment, but also brought, to all of us, much more responsibility ", said to the agency Lusa the president of Tourism of Porto and North Portugal (TPNP).

Luís Pedro Martins classified the UNESCO distinction, attributed to December 14, 2001, as an “exceptional brand”.

The Douro is also the oldest and most regulated wine region in the world (1756), where the Port wine and other products that, 25 years ago, “were not as exploited” as wine tourism, gastronomy and thermalism are added.

The offer was qualified, diversified to various profiles of tourists, grew the tourist animation companies and experiences go from this the traditional step of the grape in granite mills, the harvest, picnics or walks in the vineyards, spa vinicos, but you can also knead bread, sweep an olive tree or shear a sheep.

“There were “many other opportunities attached to this great anchor that was the recognition by UNESCO,” he stressed.

The classification is also based on a landscape shaped by man over the centuries, such as the terraced vineyards and the shale walls.

“ We would not have this success without the Douro vineyards, which will not exist without the winemakers (...) If any link fails in this chain we have all failed”, he said, pointing to the crisis that affects wine growers, who have increasingly difficulty in draining the grape and less yield to sustain the vineyard.

Luís Pedro Martins said that, at the time when the wine sector is going through a difficult time, “enouragement has proved to be a good ally” of those who produce and sell wine.

“ Sales resulting from wine tourism, in companies that have wine tourism, wine production and distribution, already account for about 30% of total sales and, in some cases, have reached 50%,” he said, considering that these values “can still grow”.

In the Douro, however, there is a lack of infrastructure to promote business tourism (congresses or conferences) and one of the region's difficulties is labour, either in hotels, restaurants or vineyards.

Asked about the solidarity rate that is being discussed for the Douro, Luís Pedro Martins said he agrees to help those “who build this destination”, but considered that the revenues from the rate applied to tourists should be distributed, to help the sustainability of farmers, but also to continue to do the external promotion.

Tourism promotion, by the External Promotion Agency and the TPNP, has been done more persistently in long-distance markets since 2019.

As a result, the North American market is currently the first in the Douro and the second in Porto and North, where it still leads the Spanish market. In the first seven months of the year, American tourists grew 9.3% in the North.

In the ranking of the seven countries from which tourists from the North region come are still Brazil and Canada, with South Korea growing.

“ And this allows us to say that we combat seasonality more easily, that we increase the average stay and get a better distribution of tourists ", said Luís Pedro Martins.

Between January and July, the region of Porto and North grew by 4.5% in number of guests, 5.5% in sleeping and 6% in recipes.

“There are figures missing that the National Institute of Statistics still does not present: sleeping in hotel equipment with less than 10 beds and sleeping in hotels boats”, he criticized, stressing that, in the Douro, sleeping on board have an important meaning, but are not being counted.

Eventually, he pointed out, it would be possible to add 30% on top of the available figures.