The Wine Tourism in Portugal group was founded 12 years ago in Porto, and organizes immersive trips, luxury personalized assistance services and customizable corporate events. It is now part of Laurel – Association of Brands of Excellence, which has done significant work promoting internationally the best that is made in Portugal.
Led by Francisco Carvalheira, Laurel brings together companies and projects that stand out for their quality, innovation and strong connection with Portuguese cultural identity, promoting its international projection in areas such as tourism, hospitality, design, fashion, gastronomy and crafts.
The Wine Tourism sector has been growing over the last few years, representing a real lifeline for many wine producing companies, at a time when consumption is falling across the world. Data from the Portuguese Wine Tourism Association, released last year, showed that this sector already represented 30% to 50% of the annual revenue of some companies. In the same sense, Portugal is currently the second largest wine tourism destination in the world, behind only Italy. Around 50% of these tourists are foreigners, with emphasis on markets such as Brazil, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France.
It is estimated that tourism premium and wine tourism represent an impact of 700 million euros in the national economy, which made the association of Wine Tourism in Portugal and Laurel seem relatively obvious to those responsible for both organizations.
In a statement, Sílvia Ferreira, founder and CEO of the Wine Tourism in Portugal Group, says that “joining Laurel is a recognition of the path we have been building over the last few years, always based on excellence, authenticity and a clear vision of national and international positioning. This membership reinforces our mission of projecting Portugal as a contemporary luxury destination, where heritage, culture, wine and hospitality are transformed into truly unique experiences.”
For his part, Francisco Carvalheira says he believes that “This partnership could become a relevant pillar in our strategy of promoting Portuguese tourism increasingly oriented towards quality, authenticity and excellence”.
Laurel includes organizations such as Savoy Palace, Viúva Lamego, Vila Vita Parc, Torres Novas or Renova.
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