VZCZCXRO6963
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHLI #0105/01 0501543
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191543Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY LISBON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7403
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPD/AMCONSUL PONTA DELGADA 0573

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 000105 
 
SIPDIS 
 
COMMERCE DEPT FOR ITA/MAC:DCALVERT 
STATE FOR EUR/WE:SHARTMANN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND PGOV PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL TOURISM FEELING ECONOMIC PINCH 
 
LISBON 00000105  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1.  In a February 11 breakfast meeting ten Portuguese travel 
and tourism contacts told the Ambassador the Portuguese 
tourism industry is suffering from the impact of the global 
financial crisis, and tourism to the US is harder hit due to 
poor marketing of US travel destinations.  The group also 
complained of unfriendly treatment by DHS border officers at 
US ports of entry, notably Atlanta's Hartsfield International 
Airport.  End summary. 
 
THE ECONOMY MATTERS TO TOURISM AS WELL 
-------------------------------------- 
¶2.  Ten business leaders of Portuguese travel and tourism 
shared their views on the state of their industry in a 
February 11 meeting at the Ambassador's residence, the latest 
in a series of USCS-sponsored industry breakfast meetings 
with the Ambassador.  Attending the February 11 meeting were 
Luis Sertorio Ovidio of White Airways (charter), Diogo 
Cassiano Neves of CN Sports (primarily golf), Francisco 
Teixeira of Melair (charter), Luis Tonicha of Viagens Abreu 
(travel agency), Joao Alves of Across Luxury Travel and 
Safaris, Anil Sampat of the Lisbon Marriott, Sergio Pantin of 
Continental Airlines, Nuno Almeida Costa of Aeroportos de 
Portugal (ANA, airport management), Eduardo Pinto Lopes of 
Sonhando (including Terra America tours with Florida 
destinations), and Antonio Loureiro of Galileo/Travelport 
(travel network and travel technologies and services). 
 
¶3.  The group consensus was that the Portuguese tourism 
industry, including Portuguese travel abroad and foreign 
visitors to Portugal, has slowed with the unfolding global 
financial crisis.  Travel forecasts are reduced across the 
board, with the possible exception of luxury travel, which 
Joao Alves was confident would hold relatively steady. 
Sergio Pantin of Continental said travel to Portugal 
originating in the US had declined more than that from EU 
countries. 
 
BAD MANNERS AT THE BORDER 
------------------------- 
¶4.  Antonio Loureiro's complaint about unwelcoming treatment 
by DHS officers in Atlanta kicked off the most vigorous 
discussion.  When the Ambassador replied that he recalled 
good experiences in Hartsfield's domestic terminals, Loureiro 
and the others responded that "it is very different in the 
international terminal."  The majority of the group 
contributed similar stories of rude or dismissive treatment 
at various ports of entry, and Pantin related that he had 
received poor treatment in Houston when "proactively" 
presenting his documentation from the Electronic System for 
Travel Authorization (ESTA), in response to which the DHS 
officer said "I don't care about that."  Almeida Costa added 
that ANA has experienced some travelers altering travel plans 
to avoid US entry points with more negative reputations. 
 
MORE ADVERTISING NEEDED ABOUT U.S. DESTINATIONS 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶5.  Surprisingly, a number of the group blamed the low volume 
of Portuguese tourism to the US on the lack of understanding 
of the variety of US leisure destinations by Portuguese 
consumers.  Charter airline heads Luis Sertorio Ovidio of 
White Airways and Eduardo Pinto Lopes of Sonhando said the 
Portuguese know about Disney World and New York, but most are 
unaware of the breadth of other US destinations and called 
for more advertising and outreach to promote US attactions. 
Several in the group claimed growth in US-Portugal travel is 
also impaired by the limited number of direct routes between 
the countries, but Pantin responded that insufficient 
customer demand was preventing Continental from considering 
any expansion in routes. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶6.  Reduced vacation travel during the current financial 
crisis is expected.  We are also accustomed to complaints 
about inconvenient entry procedures at US ports of entry, the 
magnitude of which tends to be exaggerated since travelers 
rarely comment on satisfactory experiences.  However, it is 
surprising to hear that US destinations are under-advertised, 
especially in a country with a sizable expatriate population 
in the US.  Portugal's population of eleven million persons 
does not constitute a large target market, but we would 
expect a staunch ally with which we share historically strong 
ties to be more culturally aware of the US.  Once world 
economies start to recover from their respective recessions, 
tourism from Portugal would benefit from a renewed invitation 
from our diverse vacation destinations.  End comment. 
 
 
LISBON 00000105  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
For more reporting from Embasy Lisbon and information about Portugal, 
please see our Intelink site: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/portal: 
portugal 
 
STEPHENSON