The +Sustainable Tourism Plan 2020-2023 is the strategic, participatory and dynamic, broad and creative framework through which Tourism of Portugal assumes the responsibility of mobilizing agents and society to promote sustainability in Tourism in Portugal, in that period. The new Plan is to be finalized soon and will be launched in this Summer, to be implemented from 2024-2027. Tourism of Portugal promoted a public consultation phase of the plan, which resulted in more than 100 participations from sector agents, public entities, associations, citizens and citizens. The total contributions received made the plan more complete and diversified, growing from 74 to 119 actions. The guiding principles of the Plan are: To contribute to achieve the goals of the 2027 Tourism Strategy To reinforce the role of Tourism in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations To promote the energy transition and the agenda for the circular economy of tourism companies To involve the sector’s stakeholders in a joint commitment to transform the offer and sustainability of the destination To stimulate a change of attitude throughout the value chain The goals for 2023 are: 75% of tourist facilities have energy, water and waste management systems 75% of tourist facilities that do not use single-use plastics Clean & Safe Seal: 25,000 adherents, 30,000 trained and 1,000 audited 50,000 professionals trained in the areas of sustainability 200 international references about Portugal, associated with sustainability There are 4 Axes of action that reflect the scope of projects and actions to be developed with public and private partners directly and indirectly associated with the sector: AXIS I – STRUCTURING an increasingly sustainable offer AXIS II – QUALIFYING sector agents AXIS III – PROMOTING Portugal as a sustainable destination AXIS IV – MONITORING sustainability metrics in the sector The more than 100 actions and projects identified in the Plan, without prejudice to their unequivocal relevance for the 2020-2023 period, do not exhaust the objectives to be achieved, therefore lacking continuous coordination between the various tourism agents. The management and monitoring of actions and projects to be carried out over these three years will allow for the necessary reassessment of the Plan, with a view to ensuring its continuity from 2024 onwards, as a second phase of the challenge of making Portugal a sustainable tourist destination.
