The Douro Wine Region and the surrounding region are at a crossroads, now that twenty-five years have passed since being classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If it is true that the region breaks annual records in river tourism, the wealth left by this type of tourism in the territory as a whole, made up of 19 municipalities with a high predominance of villages and where around 200 thousand inhabitants live, is still scarce. “We have to work together and with the Government to be able to retain more people, more development and opportunities for the region”, says Miguel Santos, executive secretary of the Douro Intermunicipal Community, speaking to DN/DV.
In 2024, tourism on the Douro waterway reached a new high, with close to 1.4 million registered passengers, an increase of 10.6% compared to the previous year. But this expressive flow, especially originating in the city of Porto, needs to leave more return in the territory, argues Miguel Santos. “Otherwise, cruises on the Douro only leave us with an environmental footprint, which is the waste produced on board, which the municipalities then have to transport and treat, which has a cost”, explains the person in charge. Waste management is, in fact, a challenge for the region, now that European legislation imposes stricter rules for its treatment, assumes the executive secretary.
In addition to cruises and wine tastings, the region has invested in rural tourism, nature tourism and luxury tourism, attracting new profiles of national and foreign tourists. And between 2019 and 2024, overnight stays in the Douro grew 29.1% in the Douro, compared to 19.7% in Trás-os-Montes and 18.2% in Minho.
But the lack of good transport or communications infrastructure (fiber optics) in many areas of the region is leaving it below its development potential. One of the needs most complained about by CIM Douro is the modernization of the railway. “Can the Douro be treated as a tourist destination without a modern and competitive railway?” asks CIM Douro, which also demands the complete requalification of the international connection to Spainremembering, for example, its economic impact on wine exports.
Still in the field of mobility, Miguel Santos argues that “it is necessary to think about public road transport in an integrated way in the region and its reinforcement”. But also introduce “flexible solutions for more isolated villages, where on-demand transport (taxi or TVDE) can be a solution, when the lack of economic viability of more regular careers does not justify the operation”.
It is also important to create river transport solutions between the two banks of the Douro, which free the population from having to make large and time-consuming trips to get around the complex orography of the region. Solving the issue of mobility in the Douro is crucial for its development, as some tourism projects, regardless of their size, will only be successful if they have employees with the ability to travel to their workplace..
“The issue of communications and fiber optics is another battle for the 19 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, which still struggle with areas without an internet signal”, recalls Miguel Santos. Operators have their infrastructure investments concentrated in higher density areas and along highways, and legislation does not oblige them to connect signals to villages. Without public investment from city halls, operators will not move forward either. But the type of tourist who seeks nature tourism, wine tourism or gastronomy does not necessarily like to be isolated without communications.
Given the specificity of these low-density territories, CIM Douro argues that the region can be an example of innovative demographic policy, with differentiated taxation to encourage young people to settle, for example.
Host Douro na BTL
CIM Douro marked its regular presence at BTL (Better Tourism Lisbon Travel Market) with the launch of a publication, Host Douro, a magazine that summarizes the event promoted by the community in September 2025, and which attracted international references from the world of gastronomy, oenology and hospitality to Lamego. Focusing on the concept of welcoming (host, in English), the region wants to create a host culture in the various economic activities, “because more hosts are needed than tourist guides”. It is this detail that transforms a meal into haute cuisine, as well as a simple stay into an unforgettable experience.
The Douro Intermunicipal Community covers 19 municipalities in the districts of Bragança, Vila Real, Guarda and Viseu, 217 parishes in an area of more than 4 thousand square km. Created to foster regional cooperation and sustainable development, it highlights, among its objectives, the promotion of territorial cohesion, attraction of investments, technological innovation and the internationalization of its products and services.
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