Government launches Tourism Innovation Centre

Portugal’s tourism minister, Ana Mendes Godinho, launched its new Tourism Innovation Centre NEST last week.

NEST is the anchor project for the Tourism 4.0 initiative and will operate from Covilhã in the north of Portugal. According to the minister, it will be a “key instrument to putting Portugal on the map as a world benchmark in tourism.”
“This centre is a key instrument in affirming Portugal as an international reference in tourism innovation, predicting trends and digitalising tourism offer all over the country.
“We have chosen this location in the country’s interior precisely because we believe that it is here that innovation will increasingly happen and to use tourism as a way of boosting and mobilising the territory”, said the minister during its launch.
NEST is a joint initiative from the Ministry of the Economy, the Secretary of State for Tourism and the Portuguese tourism board, Turismo de Portugal, and whose goal is to foster innovation in the tourism value chain, supporting the development of new business ideas, trying out projects and attracting companies in the innovation and digital economy domain.
The President of Turismo de Portugal, Luís Araújo was also present at the inauguration who stressed that NEST aimed to place Portugal as an innovation hub for the tourism sector and a benchmark centre internationally in terms of entrepreneurship and for coming up with innovative solutions for the sector.”