Living Tours invests 3 million and starts its own operation in Lisbon

Tourist activities company, based in Porto, celebrates 20 years with a focus on a new business segment: organizing events.

Living Tours, a tourist activities company based in Porto, but which operates throughout the Iberian Peninsula, through a network of partnerships, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, a date that will mark the beginning of the organization of guided tours, with its own operation, in Lisbon.

Also in preparation is the launch of a new business area, the organization of corporate events, as well as the opening of a new tourist reception agency in the historic center of Porto. With a planned investment of three million euros in renewing its land fleet and acquiring a second boat to operate in the Douro, the company founded by Rui Terroso intends to close 2024 with sales of 30 million euros and a team of 300 workers.

Founded in 2004, on the back of Euro 2004, Living Tours was born as Living Portugal, initially, with the pretext of offering guided tours of the historical-cultural heritage of Porto and Northern Portugal. But it was only in 2006, with the arrival of Ryanair and other low-cost aviation companies in the city, that the business really took off.

Today, it is considered the “leading tourist activity company” in Porto, with a dozen different business areas, such as excursions, transfers, organization of stays, through the Living Destination Managing Company Portugal and Spain, the latter being operating in Barcelona since 2015, and cruises, a business area that began in 2023, with Party Boat, an experience that combines music and bar, on a two-hour trip across the six bridges on the Douro, and which has been “a huge success ”, says Rui Terroso, founder and CEO of the company.

With the purchase of a new boat, the offer of cruises doubles, with capacity for 80 people on each one, and three daily departures. In total, the company offers more than 2500 different experiences, excursions and guided tours. It has a fleet of 50 buses and minibuses, 12 electric Tuk Tuks and 10 uncharacterized nine-seater vehicles, which it purchased last year to serve a range of premium customers. An investment of half a million euros is also planned in technology, namely in the company's e-commerce platform and in the integration of reservation systems.

With 200 employees, the company closed 2023 with sales of 16 million euros, an increase of 50% compared to the previous year. For this year, the goal is to grow by more than 80% and reach 30 million, with the “consolidation” of the various businesses in which it already operates and the opening of new ones.

“It is an ambitious objective, but we are convinced that we will be able to achieve it”, says the businessman, who will reinforce the company's international promotion. Living Tours participates in 25 events around the world, with special emphasis on Brazil, USA and Canada, and main tourism fairs in Europe, but will now reinforce its commitment with events in China, India and Dubai, among others. Asia and the Middle East are the big bets.

Regarding the much-discussed massification of tourism, Rui Terroso believes that the sector ends up being the “scapegoat” for the lack of sufficient housing supply to respond to a city that has become a hub for attracting international technological investment. “If it weren’t for tourism, we wouldn’t have the city we have today. It is up to all of us, those who work in the sector, to ensure that we achieve a healthy balance”, he argues.

See the full interview here with Journalist Ilídia Pinto