Porto City Council has extended the scope of the municipal recognition programme “Confiança Porto” [Trust Porto], initially intended for tourist accommodation, and which now includes tourist walking tours. The objective is to help those visiting the city to see “more of Porto.”


On a sunny afternoon, the Councillor for Tourism and Internationalisation, Catarina Santos Cunha, launched the challenge: to take advantage of the good weather to walk around part of the city centre, with the aim not only to take in the sights, but also of illustrating the importance of extending the municipal programme “Confiança Porto”. This tool will now recognise tourist walking tours and aims to boost the certification of the so-called “free walking tours”, through a range of free training programmes provided by the Municipality.


The meeting point to start the tour was Bolhão Market, and it was no coincidence: “Over there, like in the rest of the city, we want to establish a balance between residents and tourists. We don't want Bolhão to become a funfair, but rather something that is useful for everyone, for the city, for the businesses that exist there", explained Catarina Santos Cunha, at the end of the tour, which ended at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University do Porto (FBAUP).


This place, too, was chosen with a purpose. In the Exhibition Pavilion of that faculty, an exhibition related to the theme is on display: Walking Art Maps – #asbelasarteseacidade, which included a guided tour by the Dean of FBAUP, Lúcia Matos. The exhibition encourages to discover Porto through the works of art, architecture or design that can be found on walks along six suggested routes.


Earlier, several staff members of the Town Council, as well as various representatives of the sector – including the president of Associação de Turismo do Porto e Norte, Luís Pedro Martins – had accepted the challenge of the councillor for Tourism and Internationalisation, walking through such as Praça da Batalha and the Miradouro das Fontaínhas. Observing not only the heritage and landscape, but also the daily life of the locals.


“We want to take tourists from the Historic Centre and show them other routes”, acknowledged Catarina Santos Cunha, noting that tourist walking tours sometimes have “some stories about our city that are inaccurate.”


Voluntary programme

“We felt the need to create a voluntary programme to help the people who organise these tours to pass on a message of truth to the people who visit us. We have two objectives: to correct these stories and help to create the correct stories, and provide training to those who need it, free of charge. At the same time that we welcome these people, we are going to teach them a different Porto”, she emphasised.


The “Confiança Porto” programme aims to distinguish excellence in service provision, through the validation and recognition of good practices implemented by the tourism sector. The programme, initially aimed at tourist accommodation, in alignment with the new vision of the destination's sustainability, has extended its scope to tourist walking tours, focusing on the qualification of human resources and favouring the interaction of visitors with the local population, culture, and the environment, as well as the dissemination of stories about the city's history that respect its authenticity and uniqueness.


“Tourism is a major economic driving force in the region”, stressed the councillor for Tourism and Internationalisation, hence this effort to “have a better prepared, more professional city”, she added: “We want those who visit us to understand that this seal of quality is recognised by the Municipality. It makes perfect sense for us to bring more people to join this platform.”


To this end, professionals in the sector have “a website where they can access all the information. We will start [the training programmes] as soon as there is a minimum number of registered people. It is important to kick-off this initiative, in order to further certify our destination, and make the territory more authentic, the tours and the experiences of tourists more authentic and more real. Above all, to better show our Porto”, emphasised Catarina Santos Cunha.

“It is important that we don't just show our heritage, but to experience the city, other ways. We want to offer this to those who visit us, and reduce the pressure we have on the Historic Centre. It is very important that we show more Porto, because we have an incredible city. We are going to launch a campaign so that people look at this seal, recognise it and look for it”, concluded the Councillor for Tourism and Internationalization, admitting to expanding even more the scope of the “Confiança Porto” programme in the future: “We can use this seal in more situations that arise, linked to restaurants or other business areas, so that there is recognition of good practices.”

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    Last updated 2023-01-25