"What's Next - Innovating Tourism", organized by NEST - Centro de Inovação do Turismo, brings together over a hundred names to share the best ideas and practices in tourism. More than 50 startups will present solutions and leaders from other areas will bring their vision to the Bolsa de Turismo for what is one of the strategic sectors of the Portuguese economy.
Lisbon, March 8th, 2022 - Sustainability, the future of work and the digitalization of the sector will be discussed at the Lisbon Tourism Exchange 2022 (BTL) and, for the first time, innovation will have its own stage at BTL, with the "What's Next - Innovating Tourism" event.
This will be a space for debate and exchange of experiences on key issues for the sector. From March 16 to 18, in Lisbon, more than 100 leading names will debate the future of tourism and share 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 sector's main leaders to FIL's stage.
The president of Turismo de Portugal, Luís Araújo, and the executive director of NEST, Roberto Antunes, will be hosting the opening sessions at BTL over the three days.
The topics highlighted at what is Portugal's biggest tourism event 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 José Maria Garrett, NOS
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 for José Paiva, Landing Jobs
- Digital skills improve autonomy at work by António 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 Leitão, NEST HaT: Health and Tourism Lab @ NOVA Medical School
- Clean & Safe: from the Past to the Future by Leonor Picão, Turismo de Portugal
The future of tourism: a shared vision with society
Alongside the agenda at FIL in Lisbon, "What's Next - Innovating Tourism" will also feature a series of four sessions, taking place outside BTL, which will bring the vision of leaders from other areas of society and the economy to the tourism sector.
Already confirmed for March 14, Tiago Pitta e CunhaCEO of the Oceano Azul Foundation and Pessoa Prize 2021, and João Wengrovius Meneses - Secretary General of the Business Council for Sustainable Development, in a session dedicated to the theme of sustainability.
The 15th will be dedicated to digital transformation. On the 17th it will be the turn of Germano de Sousadoctor, professor and manager in the health sector and Maria de Belém Roseira, former Minister of Health, to debate the impact of health on tourism.
The series of sessions closes on March 18 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 The Next Big Ideainnovation platform, and has SIC and Expresso as partners in media.
Pthink, debate and apply
Bolsa de Turismo 2022 is focusing on new sectors, such as innovation, culture, wine tourism and nature tourism, but it is also continuing areas such as BTL LAB.
The BTL LAB, run by NEST - Innovation Center of Turismo de Portugalis a space dedicated to showcasing companies working in the tourism innovation sector. As well as showcasing startups, the LAB is an important stage for debate, trends and the exchange of experiences on the subject of innovation and technology.
Its dynamization is based on complementary initiatives with the aim of thinking, debating and applying the future of tourism, an industry that is looking for resurgence in a post-pandemic readaptation and which, in the Portuguese case, corresponds to almost 20% of GDP.
About NEST:
Private non-profit association, founded on February 18, 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, a 33rd edition of BTL - from March 16 to 20 - aims to reinforce its status as the largest tourism event held in Portugal, making a decisive contribution to the recovery of this important sector of the Portuguese economy. It brings together more than 1,400 exhibitors and more than 70,000 visitors, 35,000 of whom are professionals.