The Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) is confident that World Youth Day will be a “fantastic event” for Portugal, as one of the best ways to promote the destination is to “get people to visit us”.
Asked by Lusa if World Youth Day (WYD) has an impact in terms of travel agencies, Pedro Costa Ferreira agrees.
“This certainly has a certain impact on the travel agencies that operate in this market segment. We know that this is not a one-size-fits-all segment of the market, it is a segment very conditioned by what it is, and therefore it will certainly not only be a travel agency. market, even “in the coming” [turismo recetivo] who cares about him, but this does not mean that the event is unimportant,” he says.
So on the one hand, he says, “it’s important for the travel agencies that are working on this (event). On the other hand, the passage of hundreds of thousands of people, young people, most of whom have probably never been to Lisbon, is an extraordinary moment of progress,” he emphasizes.
WYD, considered the largest event of the Catholic Church, will be held this year in Lisbon from August 1 to 6, and about 1.5 million people are expected.
Given the expected number of people, the president of the APAVT is confident in getting a return for the country, at least in the future.
“If we don’t make an immediate impact, we will certainly make an impact over the next few years. The truth is that one of the best ways to promote our destination is to get people to come to us. We do it with journalists, we do it with travel agents who buy from us, and therefore, when we can do it with the end consumer, we can only hope in the future for the same positive response that we received from journalists and travel agents,” he said.
About “this positive response” he adds: “It’s someone who says ‘fantastic thing’, I had a lot of fun here but I didn’t come with my family, I didn’t have time to see other things and I wanted to come back here ” explains.
“Therefore, from this point of view, there may not be a direct “binding” to the results of departments this year, but I think that this is a fantastic event for the country,” he emphasizes.
The main ceremonies of the day take place in the Tagus Park, north of Parque das Nacoins, on the banks of the Tagus River, in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.
WYD costs more than 150 million euros, according to the latest estimates of the Catholic Church (about 80 million), the government (30 million excluding VAT, which is returned to the state) and the municipalities of Lisbon (up to 35 million euros). and Loures (10 million).
The days were born at the initiative of Pope John Paul II after the success of the meeting organized in 1985 in Rome as part of the International Year of Youth.
Pope Francis will arrive in Lisbon to attend WYD.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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