04 March 2016 - On February 26, Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe J. Lhuillier attended the opening session of the 4th International Conference on Religious Tourism in Fatima, Portugal where former Philippine Secretary of Tourism, Dr. Mina Gabor, gave a keynote speech and a presentation on “Religious Tourism: the Profile of the 21st Century Tourist.”
The Philippine Embassy in Lisbon under the leadership of Ambassador Lhuillier has been coordinating with the Business Association of Ourém-Fatima (ACISO) for the past two years to help identify and sponsor the participation of Philippine tour operators in the conference. There were three participants last year and four this year, including Dr. Mina Gabor, who was a guest of honor in this year’s conference.
This year’s conference was held from February 26 to 29 and was organized by ACISO in cooperation with the Municipality of Ourém and the National Tourism Agency of Portugal (Turismo de Portugal). Opinion leaders from different markets (Brazil, USA, Poland, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia, Germany and Mexico) participated in the event, along with hundreds of delegates representing national tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers and other tourism entrepreneurs that focus on religious tourism. END.