Warsaw at BTL in Lisbon
On 16-20.03 we were present with the tourist offer of Warsaw during the BTL fair in Lisbon (Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa). Among the exhibitors of the Polish National Stand organized by ZOPOT in Madrid there was also the Małopolska Tourism Organization, as well as tour operators: Mazurkas Travel, Furnel Travel, Poland Tour and Jan-Pol.
This was the first edition of this popular fair since the pandemic. Unfortunately, the recent years of travel disruptions, and certainly the recent tragic events in Ukraine, have had a significant impact on the attendance of visitors to the Feira Internacional de Lisboa exhibition hall. Visiting the stands usually involves planning international trips in advance, and this year's edition was clearly not a priority for the Portuguese.
The first three days of the industry focused mainly on the local incoming industry: representatives of the regions, hotel chains and local attractions. However, the stand of Poland and Warsaw was met with a positive reception from visitors, who often stopped to express words of appreciation and support for Poles helping refugees from Ukraine. The Polish stand was also visited by the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to express his solidarity with Poles and symbolically congratulate all exhibitors. In recent weeks, Portugal has accepted 14,000 refugees from Ukraine. The Polish Tourism Organization, in agreement with the Polish Embassy in Lisbon, also organized a meeting with local media and the staff of the political and economic department of the embassy.
During the weekends, open to the public, a significantly increased traffic among individual visitors to the fair could be noticed. The Portuguese had very positive associations with Warsaw, not only in the face of support for Ukrainian citizens, but also to a large extent due to the participants of the Erasmus exchange program studying with us. Some came for information and materials before their planned visits to the capital of Poland. We hope that in the coming months interest in our direction will also return among representatives of the Portuguese industry. In the meantime, it is worth maintaining interest and positive associations, in the expectation that in calmer circumstances they will pay off in the form of visits.
