Many event planners and meetings managers are very familiar with Europe, and I include our staff in this group but sometimes, we all can learn a little something that makes us smarter, brighter and a better resource for our clients. Knowing that we can all learn something, I am throwing out a something that was written by one of our planners that has just finished a trip to Portugal.

Here is what she had to say about this destination………………

I was overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised by Portugal, having never been to this wonderful country I was excited to see what the country could offer to meeting professionals.

Upon arriving the first thing I noticed was the airport and how they seemed to effectively handle the groups of people coming in and out. I would have to compare it to some of the larger cities and destinations where we have done large programs in the past such as Cancun, San Francisco and even Boston. Another advantage was the airports proximity to central Lisbon. Airport transfers will be a snap for our program.

The facilities, hotels and the city of Lisbon as whole seem to have infrastructure in place to handle some of the larger groups that we are considering for this destination, the largest of which is 1750 people. The hotels are centrally located which will allow us the ability to keep all of our attendees “at arms reach” and close to the convention center.

Overall, there are more than enough 4-5 star properties, boutique properties and other accommodations to satisfy the needs of our clients, vendors and event attendees. Regardless of budget, there seems to be a viable property for every attendee and every possible client considering Europe.

The people of Portugal are welcoming, warm and more than willing to assist in helping my company create an event that will allow us to achieve our clients overall event goals in Europe. I would highly recommend that all of my colleagues and peers include Lisbon and Portugal in their RFP plans for events that they are planning to schedule in Europe over the coming years.

My Thanks to the Event Planners that make cool stuff happen....................



Keith