Two events scheduled for June in California and New York will promote Portugal as a business and immigration destination for North Americans interested in moving to another country.
The events, titled “Life in Portugal”, are organized by the Algarve-based company Open Media and will feature several Portuguese companies in areas such as real estate, law and technology. They are scheduled for June 24th at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and June 27th at the Martinique Hotel in New York.
This will be the second road show of the year, designed to attract North Americans wishing to emigrate to Portugal, following two successful concerts in Los Angeles and San Francisco in February that drew about 280 people.
“The companies have established good contacts,” Bruce Hawker, CEO of Open Media, told Lusa, highlighting the particular success of the San Francisco event.
“All participating companies in San Francisco felt that the public was much better informed and more willing to move to Portugal than the public in Los Angeles, which was more curious,” he explained.
Interest in San Francisco was so great that the event had sold out weeks earlier, leading Open Media to decide to repeat the trip to the California city for this second road show.
The target audience, according to Bruce Hawker, is diverse. “In both places, we had retirees who want to retire in Portugal, as well as young people interested in technology, the so-called digital nomads.”
The person in charge suggests that there may be more interest related to the Portuguese communities on these new dates, as 90% of the participants were North American in the first road show.
“In New York, I expect more Portuguese in the second and third generation, because there is a huge community in the area, especially in Newark, and many of them have a lot of purchasing power,” said Bruce Hawker.
One company that attended in February and will return is the luxury “resort” Ombria Algarve, which has exceeded expectations in its initial approach.
“We managed to arouse great interest by establishing new contacts [com] living in California,” marketing director João Richard Costa told Lusa, explaining that several clients who had already invested in Ombria came to the events with friends interested in living in Portugal.
“We aim to reach residents of these cities who are interested in moving to come and live in the Algarve in search of a balanced lifestyle and a greater connection with nature,” the official said. João Richard Costa believes that San Francisco has “very big” potential and that New York also has “a lot of interest in Portugal”.
Costa cited the notorious rise in North American interest in the country, namely the Algarve. “The most common reasons we spoke to were affordable cost of living, high quality of life, safety, quality medical services and great weather,” he said.
Another company that will be back on the roadshow is Dengun, led by Miguel Fernandez, a digital agency and technology startup studio.
“Our goal is to talk to everyone who is considering coming to Portugal and explain to them what we have in the entire innovation and technology ecosystem,” said the executive, who already has about 80% of clients in the United States. company.
Miguel Fernandez is also running a road show on behalf of the Algarve Technical Center, which he describes as “a regional movement to position the Algarve as one of the best lifestyle destinations for foreigners.” The person in charge said that there is interest in attracting an audience with good contacts and an entrepreneurial mindset.
The idea is to present Portugal (and the Algarve) as a digital hub. “Portugal is the best place in the world to live, but it also has technology and centers of innovation,” said Miguel Fernandes.
The chief executive noted that the United States “realized” the benefits of Portugal “two or three years ago” in interest, which is attractive because it is a market with “great financial opportunities, know-how.” [conhecimento] and I know who [relações profissionais]”.
Data from the Aliens and Border Protection Service (SEF) shows that almost seven thousand new residents from the United States were registered at the end of 2021, representing a 45% increase.
According to Bruce Hawker, Open Media intends to host more of these road shows in 2024, targeting cities like Boston, Washington DC and Miami.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.