Jorge Rebelo
«We are the group that has carried out the most historical heritage restoration projects in Portugal»
Smiling and very active, he usually starts his day early and ends it late. He loves what he does very much, and we could feel this in the words we had during our long conversation with Jorge Rebelo de Almeida, the founder and president of the Vila Galé hotels. He welcomed us in Paço de Arcos, in a 15th century palace, which is home to one of the group’s hotels – the Vila Galé Collection Pálacio dos Arcos. The businessman has been in the tourism industry for over 35 years and owns over 40 hotels in Portugal, Brazil, Cuba and Spain. He calmly spoke to us about his projects, his vision of national tourism, the Portuguese coast, culture and much more. He says that he manages to find time to have fun amidst the hustle and bustle of his days, because, in his own words, when you work hard... “you have to savour the wonderful things in small doses”.
When you started in the tourism industry, more than 35 years ago, did you ever imagine being one of the players in one of the most prominent sectors in the country?
No, not at all. I started my career as a lawyer. I worked as a lawyer for 13 years and achieved some prominence, especially in the areas in which I was a specialist, which had to do with problems involving contracts, projects and construction work. I always liked projects and construction work, but although I really enjoyed being a lawyer and what I did, there was something missing. At first, I created a project on Galé beach, which we called Vila Galé. I started with two friends who had other activities, and I took advantage of all the experience I had in the construction and tourism sectors, because I had had a lot of clients in those areas. That's when I started to become interested in tourism. One thing is for sure: it never crossed my mind to create a hotel group.
So, is this how the hotel group called Vila Galé was born?
Yes. An architect friend of mine and I made the “little doll” at a lunch in Portugália. I’m not good at drawing, but I am good at architecture and interior design, so much so that the vast majority of our projects are designed by me and my team, which I really enjoy doing. Today, we have 42 hotels in operation and two more that opened in April, in Figueira da Foz and Isla Canela, in the south of Spain. And in Brazil, we have two under construction. In Cuba, we started in October last year, with a wonderful hotel, on a stunning beach in Cayo Paredón. Cuba is truly enchanting. It’s a shame that it’s going through a difficult period... but I believe it will overcome it. This hotel belongs to the Cuban state, it wasn’t our investment, we were hired to manage the hotel.
What challenges has the group faced along this long journey?
The Vila Galé group can be defined as a company that mobilized and motivated many people. It was a great challenge to create a hotel group that today has everything I dreamed of. It is a serious company, it has prestige, it has social responsibility, and it is concerned with environmental sustainability. The group's concern is not to make money; on the contrary, it is to carry out projects that are useful to society. I would say that we are the group that has carried out the most projects to restore historical heritage in Portugal. Today, the company has more than five thousand employees, two thousand and two hundred in Portugal.
We all have a little bit of madness in us, we love challenges, carrying out projects and projects, which is not easy in a country like ours, just as it is not in Brazil, where the difficulties in getting approval are tremendous. Here in Portugal, for example, we have a lot of projects to move forward, all of them different, but it takes time. For example, we are developing another project in the historic center of Elvas, which is completely different – it is located on a street with little houses on both sides and it involves the renovation of an old plum factory, which was known as “Queen-Cláudia” and which today is simply called Elvas plum.
We are also restoring a castle, the Paço do Curutêlo, in Ponte de Lima, in Freixo. It is a 60-hectare estate, which has a castle that dates back to 1126, that is, before the birth of Portugal. As the estate is very large and has 10 hectares of Loureiro grape vines, we are preparing the planting and the winery is also under construction. This is another investment in the wine sector, which will join the estate we already have in Alentejo – Santa Vitória (which includes three hotels) – which produces wines and olive oils, fruit and livestock; and the one we have also had in the Douro, in Armamar, for six years.
The Vila Galé group has more than 30 hotels in Portugal, from the North to the South, many of which are located by the sea. Does this make these hotels more appealing?
Of course it does. In Portugal, we have established destinations: Algarve, Lisbon and the Lisbon coast, and Porto. Just as Figueira da Foz was once and is now a place where we are going to restore an old hotel, right on the beachfront, the Grande Hotel da Figueira.
But the Vila Galé group, along with these hotels in more well-known locations, has been investing in the interior. The interior of our country, which is beautiful, is forgotten because our politicians, from the left to the right, talk a lot about the interior but then do little to implement it. In the group, we started by building a hotel in Braga that is in one of the city's central squares and we have another project to move forward in Miranda do Douro, on top of the dam. Projects like these help the development of the interior. I have said, and many people disagree, that it is nonsense to build a TGV from Lisbon to Porto, because I don't think it will add anything and it requires a lot of investment money, which will force us to take on huge debts, when we already have a very high public debt. If this Lisbon-Porto route would bring great development to the country, but it doesn't. The train that already exists is very pleasant to travel on, and if the line were improved with 10% of what they want to spend on the TGV, the line would be excellent and there would be money left over to improve the entire national rail network. We are talking about 10 billion euros. The TGV that interests us, which is an asset for the country, is the Lisbon-Madrid TGV, but for that we have to resolve this problem of the Iberian gauge of the railway lines. Another thing that was essential for developing the interior of the north of the country was to continue that beautiful road, both in Lamego, facing Régua, and in Armamar, where we have the Vila Galé Vineyards, that is, the road that goes from Régua to Pinhão. If there was a desire to do things and contribute to the development of the interior, that road could be built, from the riverbank to Foz Côa. It would enhance Foz Côa and the entire upper Douro, which is beautiful.
But do you still see tourist potential on the Portuguese coast?
I see a lot of potential from north to south, and there is a lot of space. The Algarve has a coastline that is already sufficiently populated. Today, with the limitations of the coastal plan, there is no longer much space to carry out more projects. The Alentejo coast and the Algarve coast, facing the western Atlantic, have potential and are developing, but slowly.
As Portugal is the European country with the longest coastline, what do you consider to be the obstacles preventing the maritime and coastal potential from being exploited?
A lot of time is wasted on the general management of cultural heritage, which is an obstacle to the recovery of much of the existing heritage, and in the maritime sector, this is even worse. We had the port of Lisbon, which was blocked for years, as well as the development of the riverside area in both Lisbon and Porto, which prevented the cities from turning towards the river. Approving a marina in this country is practically a 15-year process. It is clear that many people give up, because no one has the patience to put up with a project that takes ten or 15 years.
When it comes to maritime areas, the sea is one of the most incredible things we have in Portugal. When there are public demonstrations, people argue that the sea is extremely important for our economy and that it could be a source of greater revenue, but unfortunately, in practice, people only talk and do nothing. If someone wants to start a fish farming project, they have a tremendous difficulty.
Do you believe that climate change could be an obstacle to the construction of infrastructure near the sea?
It is possible to reconcile the environment with economic development, but it must be done carefully. In ten years' time, anyone who has a hotel that does not respect environmental standards and values will not have guests. Tourism, in order to be balanced, needs the country to develop harmoniously in various sectors of activity and, culturally, it must remain attractive.
«Tourism contributes a lot to the Portuguese accounts»
If you had to choose one of the most emblematic places in Portugal, by the sea, which would it be?
Tourism in Portugal was born in Albufeira. In the Algarve, there are two cities that I think have great tourism potential and can grow – Lagos and Tavira. There is an inland Algarve where more projects could be developed. There has been talk for years about a desalination plant, and for years about building a branch to collect water from the Guadiana, but the government has not yet moved forward with the project. The Algarve also deserves to have agriculture; if it is just a tourist destination, it will lose its charm.
The group contributes to the country's economy and to the restoration of historical heritage. How does the government reward this contribution?
The government that took on the pandemic, throughout that time, behaved very well towards companies, because it gave them help with the lay-offs , paid part of people's salaries. This had never happened in Portugal during other crises, namely the one in 2008-2010. During that crisis, we fell in terms of employment, but we were not left without employment; with the pandemic, there was no employment, there was no air transport, there was nothing. In fact, the country closed down and, therefore, it was very dramatic; but the government provided good help. However, this last government had, like no other, extraordinary conditions, because it had several funds, it had the RRP that it did not know how to spend, it had the rest of Portugal 2020 and now 2030, but it did not take advantage of any of this, and it was a government that had all the conditions to have made the 'changes' that the country needs.
In your opinion, at what level is Portuguese tourism?
Portuguese tourism is a sector that has developed thanks to the work and merit of private initiative. It is a sector that has never been particularly loved by the government and has been vilified by some parties. Tourism contributes greatly to Portugal's finances. Now, let it be clear that tourism must have other partners, in other sectors, because we are not envious. In order to remain attractive, cities must diversify their tourist offerings.
Vila Galé does not only operate in Brazil, it has also invested in Brazil.
We have ten resorts in operation, which translates into about ten thousand beds in Brazil. And we are in the process of building a hotel of choice, in Cumbuco. It will have about 130 units, has a fabulous location – right on the beach – and has the lagoon of kitesurfing . It opens in November this year. And we are recovering a space in Minas Gerais, in Ouro Preto, which is a very Portuguese city, with a fabulous heritage. This The resort has a river running through it, the Maracujá River, and will have 300 rooms, horses, field activities, vineyards and olive groves.
And, in addition to Cuba, another destination where we can find the Vila Galé brand, will also open this year in Spain. Why these markets?
Cuba came about as a result of an invitation from the government, which approached us to manage a hotel in Cayos, with 638 rooms and seven restaurants. Following this invitation, we have a second one in mind, in the city of Havana, which will be ready by the end of the first quarter of next year. The government chose us because we are a company with a lot of weight in Portugal, but also because we have projects in Brazil, as they want to attract Brazilians to Cuba. Spain is also not an investment of ours, but rather of a Spanish real estate group that invited us to help with the remodeling of the hotel in Isla Canela. We are currently carrying out the works and the hotel will open in its splendor.
Has the hotel industry managed to complete it more than the law ever could?
Without a doubt. Giving people jobs, improving their lives and carrying out projects is much more attractive. Law is very useful for the hotel industry, for managing a company. In a bureaucratic country like this, having a legal background is always good.
Being among the two hundred largest hotel groups in the world and number two in Portugal is synonymous with resilience and know-how. What are your prospects for the future of the group?
I don't have any major long-term goals. We will continue to grow because, in fact, the group's policy is to reinvest what it earns. There are Portuguese-speaking countries where I would like to have a project, such as Mozambique.
Of all the spaces you have, which one impresses you the most every time you go back?
I'll mention a hotel located in a place where the sea water isn't wonderful, because it's not very warm, but which has a fabulous landscape, which is in Angra dos Reis. Not so much because of the building itself, but because of the surroundings. This hotel is nestled right on the beach, with a mountain behind it. And the climate isn't as wonderful as in the Northeast of Brazil, but it has one great advantage: it has a mysterious image – when you wake up on a misty morning, it's beautiful to see.
What is Jorge's day-to-day life like?
My day is very active. First I work with pleasure, then I work a lot, but I have a lot of people around me who also work a lot. I start the day early and finish late, and I still find time to have fun. Do you know what happens when you work a lot? You have to savor the wonderful things in small doses.
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