However, only the monuments universe existing in Portugal exceeds 30,000 (excluding museums in new buildings), about 4,500 being holders of one of the three grades of classification existing in our country. The number of citizens is known to all. And the expected number for guests and hikers in Portugal by 2027 is just over 40 million.
It seems, therefore, clear that Portugal not only has an unavoidable and inimitable appeal in the global framework which, even in the incipient mode of scale and complementarity with which it operates at present, already guarantees considerable consumers and revenues; but also that this same attraction operates in a market with frankly relevant numbers and to which we must add the effective “activation” of the still dormant national market.
Are the resources that are, to date, likely to be enjoyed, the experiences provided, the mediation offered, the complementary services to support the visitation (cafeteria, store, wi-fi), branding, outdoor communication, anyhow, is the quality, competitiveness, and efficiency of making this asset available in the best way? Is it strategically equated? Does it take into account European and international best practices in this field? Does it anticipate future trends?
If we add to this the certainty that there is a universe of new assets confirmed at least 5 times the number of monuments and museums currently controlled in terms of entry, we have to question what human resources and specialized training exist in the country to address this huge opportunity.
We went to monuments and museums when we travel to another country because this is the easiest way to enter and understand the culture we visit in a controlled place with guaranteed interpretation. We do this less when we move away from urban centers or have a lower expectation of this professional mediation because the very experience of living with citizens apparently disconnected from the modernity world from which we, the tourists, also results in a cultural experience in itself: these modern local communities concentrate all the fascination and mystery we have identified and sought in the monuments of the past.
Given Portugal's “modern-coast” versus “inland-authentic” characterization, we, therefore, have two important pathways of urgent qualification to pursue: on the one hand, the professionalization of agents working on the resources already monitored, ensuring that the experience they provide to the visitor is not only worthwhile in its own right but is also capable of competing with the shopping, football, beach or cinema alternatives offered to our desired customer. On the other hand, to qualify a universe of human resources that still lives in the peripheral territories of the country or that for them wants to change/wants to return to it so that it can collaborate in the construction of this necessary, timely and desired mediation of cultural resources so harmoniously across the whole. the national territory.
However, this path of qualification can only be done in one way: guided by pragmatism, providing the agents with the necessary and truly operative tools to work towards the creation of solid teams, efficient communication, appropriate marketing strategies, an option functional and sustainable management models.
It is necessary to offer active professionals or those who will soon enter the labor market, efficient intervention tools, adapted to the reality of the Portuguese system, and always bearing in mind the global trends of the future. It is also important to take into account the universe of cultural heritage as a whole, always emphasizing how this harmoniously spread asset in the country contains in itself significant opportunities for socio-economic development for the so-called peripheral territories - which, after all, constitute the much of Portugal's territory.
When these human resources training is established, Portugal will be able to offer excellent cultural experiences, whether it is a castle in the capital, a contemporary art center in the north or an itinerary through closed monuments in the inner Alentejo and building the imperative complementarities between them.
Only then will we have created a solid anchor for the necessary achievement of the sustainability of the national territory.