The “What's Next – Innovating Tourism”, organized by NEST – Tourism Innovation Center, brings together more than a hundred names to share the best ideas and practices in Tourism. More than 50 startups present solutions and leaders from other areas bring their vision to the Tourism Exchange for what is one of the strategic sectors of the Portuguese economy.
Lisbon, March 8, 2022 – Sustainability, the future of work and the digitization of the sector are discussed at the Lisbon Tourism Board 2022 (BTL) and, for the first time, innovation gains its own stage at BTL, with the event “What's Next – Innovating Tourism ”.
This will be a space for debate and exchange of experiences on key themes for the sector. From March 16th to 18th, in Lisbon, more than 100 leading names will debate where the future of Tourism is going and share the best ideas and practices.
Organized by NEST – Centro de Inovação do Turismo, the event features the presentation of solutions developed by more than 50 startups and brings the main leaders of the sector to the FIL stage.
The president of Turismo de Portugal, Luís Araújo and the executive director of NEST, Roberto Antunes, will host the opening sessions at BTL over the three days.
The themes highlighted in what is the biggest tourism event held in Portugal are:
March 16: The revolution is digital
- WOW – World of Wine by Adrian Bridge, Fladgate Partnership
- The age of biometrics by Aaron Beeson, ANA
- The Power of Analytics in Cities by Jose Maria Garrett, US
March 17: Transformation is in the hands of the people
- Diversity, Ethics and Vision: Transformative Leadership by Chitra Stern, United Lisbon Education Hub
- The attraction of talent José PaivaLanding Jobs
- Digital skills to improve autonomy at work by Antonio Neves, Google
March 18: People, environment and values all converge in tourism
- The future of Sustainability relies on Tourism by Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast
- Human Sustainability, a new dimension for Ricardo Leitao, NEST HaT: Health and Tourism Lab @ NOVA Medical School
- Clean & Safe: From Past to Future by Leonor Picão, Tourism of Portugal
The future of tourism: the vision shared with society
Alongside the agenda at FIL, in Lisbon, “What's Next – Innovating Tourism” will also feature a set of four sessions, taking place in locations outside BTL, which bring the vision of leaders from other areas of society and economy for the tourism sector.
Already confirmed are, on March 14, Tiago Pitta e Cunha, CEO of the Oceano Azul Foundation and the Pessoa 2021 Award, and João Wenrovius Meneses – Secretary General of the Business Council for Sustainable Development, in a session dedicated to the theme of sustainability process.
The 15th will be dedicated to digital transformation. On the 17th it will be the turn of Germano de Sousa, Physician, Professor and Manager in the area of health and Maria de Belem Roseira, former Minister of Health, to debate the impact of health on tourism.
The cycle of sessions ends on March 18th with a discussion on the role of culture and art in the construction of tourist destinations.
“What's Next – Innovating Tourism” is organized by The Next Big Idea, an innovation platform, and has the SIC and the Express as partners of medium.
Pteach, debate and apply
The Bolsa de Turismo 2022 bets on new sectors, such as innovation, culture, wine tourism and nature tourism, but also gives continuity to areas such as BTL LAB.
The BTL LAB, in charge of the NEST – Innovation Center for Tourism of Portugal, is a space dedicated to the dissemination of companies that work in the sector of innovation in tourism. In addition to showing startups, the LAB is an important stage for debate, trends and exchange of experiences on the subject of innovation and technology.
Its dynamism is based on complementary initiatives with the aim of thinking, debating and applying the future of tourism, an industry that seeks resurgence in a post-pandemic readaptation and which, in the Portuguese case, corresponds to almost 20% of GDP.
About NEST:
Non-Profit Private Association, founded on 18 February 2019 by eight entities – Turismo de Portugal, ANA Aeroportos, Brisa Via Verde, Google, Microsoft, Millennium BCP, NOS and BPI. Its strategic pillars are cultural innovation, digital knowledge and pilot projects for the sector.
About BTL:
promoted by AIP Foundation, 33th edition of BTL – from 16 to 20 March – aims to reinforce its status as the largest tourism event held in Portugal, contributing decisively to the recovery of this important sector of the Portuguese economy. It brings together in one space more than 1.400 exhibitors and more than 70.000 visitors, of which 35.000 are professionals.
