In November 2019, the City Council organized the 3rd Meeting of Tourism Agents in the Municipality of Santiago do Cacém. The initiative, which took place at the António Chainho Municipal Auditorium, aimed to promote the debate and strengthen the links between local and regional tourist agents. In order to enhance networking, with the various interlocutors, through the sharing of knowledge and the drawing up of strategies in favor of the Municipality and the tourism sector. The meeting brought together professionals from the catering, hospitality, tourist entertainment and travel agencies.
The Mayor of Santiago do Cacém, Álvaro Beijinha, underlines that “the initiative is part of the strategy that the Municipality has defined for the tourism sector in the Municipality. The Meeting intended to bring together, in the same space, the different actors operating in the area, to discuss tourism in the municipality of Santiago do Cacém and its opportunities. But also to make these entrepreneurs and professionals know each other, and to know what are the different offers that exist in the Municipality ”.
Álvaro Beijinha points out that this year “the Caminhos de Santiago were the theme that was on the agenda”, among the issues of heritage and the environment. Autarca adds that it is important to “listen to businessmen and learn about their experiences, hoping that they will take advantage of the contributions that the different speakers and panels gave to the Meeting, and that they can learn more about the County and the region”.
Alongside this initiative, visits were promoted throughout the year by the Municipality so that participants connected to the local tourist sector get to know each other better, as well as the territory where they have their activity. “These moments are important so that whoever invests in our Municipality, and who is often from here, knows their reality and what it has to offer to those who visit us”, explains Álvaro Beijinha. “The numbers show that this work has been well accomplished, we have seen an enormous increase in tourist overnight stays, which from 22 to 2018 was 22%, and in the last four years it was 137%, that is, we went from 51 thousand overnight stays to 122 thousand , naturally with a very significant return for the local economy, as it attracts more investments, creates jobs and wealth ”, underlines the Mayor.
The opening session of the Meeting was in charge of the Mayor of Santiago do Cacém. This was followed by the intervention of Pedro Beato, from the Regional Tourism Authority of Alentejo and Ribatejo (ERTAR) preceded by that of Vítor Silva, President of the Regional Tourism Promotion Agency of Alentejo and Ribatejo.
The program of the Meeting was divided into three panels. The first, called “Sentir os Caminhos de Santiago”, with the “Presentation of the film Caminhos de Santiago – Alentejo and Ribatejo”, followed by the “Presentation of the Caminhos de Santiago Project” by ERTAR, and later the theme “accommodation – Opportunities for Business – Casa de Santiago ”, by Francisco Lobo de Vasconcellos.
“Feeling the Constructed Patrimony of Santiago do Cacém” was the second panel of the Meeting which was divided into three themes “Monumental Ensemble Igreja Matriz e Castelo”, presented by José António Falcão from the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, “Ruinas Romanas de Miróbriga” by Manuela de Deus, from the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage and “Presentation of the Museum Network of the Municipality of Santiago do Cacém”, by José Matias from the City Council.
The meeting ended with the panel “Feeling the Environment and Nature” presented, in the first theme, “Environmental impacts – Commitment to Minimize them”, by José Roseira, from Hotel, Vila Park. The second theme by ICNF – Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests that made the “Presentation of the Natural.pt Project”, by João Carlos Farinha. This panel ended with the “Presentation of the Black Pig Project Alentejo”.
It should be recalled that the 1st Meeting of Tourism Agents in the Municipality of Santiago do Cacém took place in 2015, since then it has been held every two years.
