Nova SBE | Tourism TIDES | Ep. 8: Youth, Hospitality & Tourism Futures with Joaana Amaro — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:08Hello everyone and welcome to Tourism
2. 0:10Tides, the With Africa video cast where
3. 0:12we spotlight ideas, insights and
4. 0:14projects that are impacting tourism and
5. 0:17hospitality in African countries. And
6. 0:19today we have a very special guest,
7. 0:21Joana Amaro, who's the president of the
8. 0:23Nova Hospitality Club. Welcome Joana.
9. 0:26>> Thank you for receiving me here today.
10. 0:29>> Yeah, thank you for coming. Uh Joana, uh
11. 0:32before we start maybe we can you can
12. 0:33tell us a little bit about your
13. 0:35background, what led you to choose to
14. 0:37study economics, right? That's the
15. 0:39bachelor's you're taking here at Nova.
16. 0:42And the interest you have in tourism and
17. 0:44hospitality.
18. 0:45>> Okay. So, I'm Joana Amaro. I'm 21 years
19. 0:48old and I'm Angolan. I came to Portugal
20. 0:51when I was 18, right after finishing
21. 0:53high school.
22. 0:55In high school, I studied physics and
23. 0:57biological sciences.
24. 0:59>> Oh, wow.
25. 1:00>> Because I really wanted to impact and I
26. 1:02was very fascinated with the idea of
27. 1:05saving lives. So, for a long period of
28. 1:07my life, I wanted to study medicine.
29. 1:11But, when I was around 15 in high
30. 1:14school, I realized that medicine was not
31. 1:17actually the fit for me. So, I
32. 1:20considered engineering because I really
33. 1:22liked physics and mathematics.
34. 1:25But then,
35. 1:27I also really enjoyed and was interested
36. 1:29in social is- issues, history and
37. 1:33international relations. So, I was
38. 1:35looking for a path that could combine
39. 1:37both the analytical side and also like
40. 1:40the human sciences part. That's how I
41. 1:43ended up choosing economics, which I'm
42. 1:46very happy about the idea and I feel
43. 1:48like I'm receiving the tools that I
44. 1:51always wanted to create impact
45. 1:52[clears throat] and meaningful things.
46. 1:55Um
47. 1:55yeah, I chose Nova because I wanted like
48. 1:58one of the best and
49. 1:59also to be challenged.
50. 2:01Um, my interest for tourism and
51. 2:04hospitality started at a very young age
52. 2:07because I grew up watching my parents
53. 2:10create our residential hotel in
54. 2:14Benguela, a province in Angola, which I
55. 2:17here invite you all to visit.
56. 2:19>> [laughter]
57. 2:19>> The name is Hotel Tour.
58. 2:21And yeah, I saw since a very early age
59. 2:26the effort and the care they put not
60. 2:29only into the project, but also with
61. 2:31their clients and employees. And later
62. 2:35on I also saw the impact it it caused in
63. 2:39the community where the hotel is located
64. 2:43because it generated jobs, also economic
65. 2:46activity, and more
66. 2:49dynamic to the area.
67. 2:51>> And it's interesting how you chose that
68. 2:53because in the end, um, I think that's
69. 2:55exactly what we can bring in the
70. 2:57hospitality space, right? You're looking
71. 2:59at, of course, analytical aspects about
72. 3:02managing a hotel, um,
73. 3:05and really, you know, assessing the
74. 3:07metrics, but in the end it's about the
75. 3:09human touch, right? And how you welcome
76. 3:11people into perhaps your culture, your
77. 3:14space, and provide a a relevant and
78. 3:17impactful experience, right?
79. 3:19>> Yes.
80. 3:19>> Um, and thinking about that also, um,
81. 3:23and about your academic path, how has it
82. 3:25been for you to be a student here,
83. 3:27international student? You came right
84. 3:29after high school, right? You said. So,
85. 3:31what's the experience so far studying at
86. 3:34Nova and in Portugal?
87. 3:35>> Yes, studying at Nova specifically, it's
88. 3:38very demanding. I think you already know
89. 3:41that. It's challenging, but it's exactly
90. 3:43what I was looking for. But of course,
91. 3:45sometimes when things get too demanding,
92. 3:49I question myself, "Girl, why?" But
93. 3:52then, yeah, that's what I was looking
94. 3:54for. I also wanted to challenge my
95. 3:56intelligence and also see how far I
96. 3:59could go.
97. 4:00But,
98. 4:02I mean, in the beginning it was
99. 4:04difficult, but after a lot of effort and
100. 4:07work, I quickly adapt myself studying
101. 4:10here at Nova.
102. 4:12And yeah, on a more personal personal
103. 4:14level, I would say that I'm not a very
104. 4:17like
105. 4:18a person that is very attached to
106. 4:20places.
107. 4:21I'm very [clears throat] connected to my
108. 4:22family, which is all in Angola, but
109. 4:25moving was not a big issue for me. My
110. 4:28father always told me that I should
111. 4:30consider myself a citizen of the world,
112. 4:32and I think I took this idea on board
113. 4:35with me for like completely. So, yeah, I
114. 4:38moved and it's been a great experience.
115. 4:41And besides that, I really love Lisbon,
116. 4:43like the beaches, lifestyle, the
117. 4:46weather. So, I really enjoy being here
118. 4:49and studying at Nova.
119. 4:50>> All right, great. And also within your
120. 4:51path, you became the became the
121. 4:53president of the Nova Hospitality Club.
122. 4:56Can you tell us a little bit about the
123. 4:57work you do there? What does it focus on
124. 5:01and what you've learned so far in that
125. 5:03position?
126. 5:04>> Yes, I recently just became president of
127. 5:07the Nova Hospitality Club, which has
128. 5:09been like a learning journey for me.
129. 5:14In the club, our focus is to spread the
130. 5:16idea that hospitality is important in
131. 5:19every single industry, not only in the
132. 5:21ones related to tourism and hotels.
133. 5:25Um I strongly We strongly believe that
134. 5:28companies should have a customer-centric
135. 5:31mindset because products might be the
136. 5:33same, prices might be similar, but a
137. 5:36human experience is something that you
138. 5:38cannot just copy, and it really
139. 5:40influences
140. 5:42fidelity, trust, and satisfaction
141. 5:46among customers. And we try to bring
142. 5:49this we bring this idea to life through
143. 5:52different initiatives. For example,
144. 5:54organizing events. We also have a strong
145. 5:57partnership with the Westmont Institute
146. 5:59of Tourism here at Nova where we help
147. 6:01with protocol host of the events where
148. 6:05they bring
149. 6:06leaders from the industry to talk about
150. 6:08their perspectives and their journey. We
151. 6:11are also developing signature event of
152. 6:15our club which is the Hospitality Open
153. 6:17Day which is actually taking its first
154. 6:20edition tomorrow, the 23rd of April.
155. 6:23Yes, where we invited speakers from
156. 6:27different industries
157. 6:29really to bring the idea of how
158. 6:31transversal hospitality is and how it
159. 6:34really impacts the customer experience
160. 6:36in every single industry.
161. 6:39We also do a lot of like field trips to
162. 6:42key and well-positioned hotels in
163. 6:45Lisbon, museums, restaurants to see how
164. 6:49all those things come into play like in
165. 6:51real life.
166. 6:52>> Okay, okay. And it's interesting you
167. 6:54said that because my next question was
168. 6:55actually looking ahead and trying to
169. 6:57understand in your perspective and maybe
170. 7:00from what you see among your colleagues
171. 7:01at the course or at the or at the club
172. 7:04um, and specially thinking about
173. 7:06hospitality as this skill or element
174. 7:10that will be present in different
175. 7:12industries. Um, how do you see
176. 7:16um, what are people looking for for
177. 7:19their careers and their placement in the
178. 7:21tourism and hospitality sector?
179. 7:23>> Okay.
180. 7:24Um, I'll talk more related to my
181. 7:27generation and the people I see because
182. 7:29it's where I'm right now located.
183. 7:32I think
184. 7:34we are looking for um, jobs
185. 7:37opportunities or realities that offer
186. 7:40growth, that offer flexibility and also
187. 7:43purpose.
188. 7:45People also look a lot for companies
189. 7:48that value a lot the employee
190. 7:51well-being.
191. 7:51>> Mhm.
192. 7:52>> Um and yeah, it's not only about just
193. 7:55getting a job. It's about you working
194. 7:58for something that really trust and you
195. 8:00feel like it's actually worth it. So,
196. 8:03yeah. And many are also looking for
197. 8:05international positions or opportunities
198. 8:08like I am.
199. 8:09>> Mhm.
200. 8:11>> I also I want to invest in the
201. 8:12hospitality industry because not only
202. 8:14for my family business in Angola, but
203. 8:19also like internationally, I hope. I
204. 8:22also want to work at a macro level
205. 8:24knowing the different perspective for
206. 8:25example
207. 8:26for the International Monetary Fund. But
208. 8:29if I could for example join those two
209. 8:31worlds, it would be
210. 8:33important for me, I think. And also,
211. 8:36yeah, because I see meaning in that. So,
212. 8:40yeah, I'd I'd say purpose, growth
213. 8:42opportunity, flexibility, yeah, and
214. 8:45international areas.
215. 8:47>> And do you see that
216. 8:49um
217. 8:49on the search for for the right
218. 8:51position, is there any element that is
219. 8:54missing or in any way do you think that
220. 8:57the industry is falling short into
221. 8:59absorbing this this talent?
222. 9:02>> Yes. Um working for a hospitality
223. 9:05tourism industry, the work-life balance
224. 9:09sometimes can be challenging because of
225. 9:12the long hours and shifts that for
226. 9:15example you sometime have to work on
227. 9:17weekends. And then, you know, you have
228. 9:19to be available to if you were scheduled
229. 9:22to work only till 8:00, sometimes
230. 9:24happens something and you have you are
231. 9:26receiving like a lot of customers, you
232. 9:29have to stay. And yeah, that part is
233. 9:32also
234. 9:33it's challenging, but working in
235. 9:35hospitality you have to be prepared to
236. 9:37deal with that.
237. 9:38Also, it's an industry that deals a lot
238. 9:41with
239. 9:43taste which varies a lot from person to
240. 9:46person.
241. 9:48So, you have to also know how to deal
242. 9:50with complaints and people you know
243. 9:53telling oh it shouldn't be like that
244. 9:56even though it's how
245. 9:58the company you're working for works but
246. 10:01you know clients.
247. 10:02>> [laughter]
248. 10:04>> I'd say also compensation and
249. 10:06recognition sometimes doesn't match the
250. 10:09effort and what the industry expect us
251. 10:13to give on in our in on a early stage
252. 10:17for the things I said for because you're
253. 10:19dealing with customers, people
254. 10:20complaining, the long hours. So, yeah
255. 10:23I'd say that those are the main things
256. 10:26that could be
257. 10:27more worked or that worry
258. 10:31people the most working in this
259. 10:33>> in the sector
260. 10:36Okay, and now thinking about
261. 10:39again thinking about that experience and
262. 10:41to the early exposure you've had to the
263. 10:44hospitality industry
264. 10:47can you comment a bit on how that
265. 10:49perhaps impacted your own path and
266. 10:52choices?
267. 10:54Particularly thinking you know
268. 10:57what does it take perhaps to run a
269. 10:59business hospitality business in or in
270. 11:02Angola in Portugal and so?
271. 11:05>> Okay, I'll I'll talk more specifically
272. 11:07about Angola because
273. 11:10yeah, I'm Angolan my parents have a
274. 11:12business in Angola so yeah.
275. 11:14Angola is a country with a very high
276. 11:18potential.
277. 11:19We have diverse ecosystems, we have
278. 11:23virgin beaches, we have savannas,
279. 11:25forests.
280. 11:26We have a very rich fauna and flora like
281. 11:31with species that you can only find in
282. 11:33Angola but we still need to work a lot
283. 11:37in for example infrastructure
284. 11:39accessibility conditions I say long-term
285. 11:44strategic planning
286. 11:45>> Mhm.
287. 11:46>> and also investment decisions um for
288. 11:50example I'll talk about Benguela my
289. 11:52parents have this residential hotel in
290. 11:55Benguela even though the business has a
291. 11:57lot of potential the surrounding
292. 11:59conditions sometimes make it difficult
293. 12:02to grow
294. 12:03not only in Benguela but also like I
295. 12:05feel that it's a reality that happens uh
296. 12:08with some business in Angola
297. 12:10um that needs to be worked for example
298. 12:15infrastructure like roads
299. 12:17Angola also has only um
300. 12:20one international airport and domestic
301. 12:23flights are not very common or frequent
302. 12:27so for you to go from Luanda to Benguela
303. 12:30Luanda is the capital to Benguela which
304. 12:32is another province
305. 12:33sometimes you would only have one flight
306. 12:35in a day if you are considering for
307. 12:37example going by car or bus it's not
308. 12:41very attractive as well because a trip
309. 12:45that could last for example four to six
310. 12:47hours it would take 10 or 12 because the
311. 12:51the roads are you know still being
312. 12:54developed uh in a slow pace I'd say so
313. 12:59in terms of accessibility is that in
314. 13:01terms of infrastructure we still have a
315. 13:03lot um
316. 13:04to work on um
317. 13:08talking about purchasing power in the
318. 13:11country it's also very low especially
319. 13:15after um economic shocks for example the
320. 13:17drop in oil price in 2015
321. 13:20uh COVID-19 um pandemic and also the
322. 13:24more recent geopolitical tensions
323. 13:27um
324. 13:28really damaged um the the purchasing
325. 13:30power in the country. So, people
326. 13:33will not look so much for tourism or
327. 13:35hospitality
328. 13:37areas.
329. 13:39You know, because it's very restrict
330. 13:42budget, I'd say.
331. 13:44And I feel like
332. 13:45still lacks a lot of incentives from the
333. 13:49government. Um there's some stuff that
334. 13:52is already like happening. For example,
335. 13:54the government has been doing a lot of
336. 13:56investment to bring international
337. 13:58attention to Angola. Luanda was the host
338. 14:01of the ITB Berlin 2026, which is the
339. 14:05international tourism fair, one of the
340. 14:08most prestigious tourism fairs in the
341. 14:10world.
342. 14:12We had last year, in November, um
343. 14:15allusive to the 50 years of independence
344. 14:17of the country, uh the Argentine team,
345. 14:21led by Lionel Lionel Messi.
346. 14:23>> Oh, okay.
347. 14:23>> It was an investment of $12 million
348. 14:27just to bring the team there.
349. 14:29Okay, it was good.
350. 14:32Um recently we had we had also with me
351. 14:34to do the promotion of racing
352. 14:38boats in Luanda, as well.
353. 14:42But like
354. 14:43okay, those activities bring visibility
355. 14:45to the country,
356. 14:47but they raise a very important
357. 14:49question. So, what is actually the
358. 14:51meaning of all of that if all the
359. 14:54visibility you're bring bringing to the
360. 14:55country,
361. 14:58the country doesn't even have the
362. 15:00foundations or the the structures
363. 15:02to receive
364. 15:04all the people that that global
365. 15:06visibility could bring to Angola?
366. 15:08Maybe those investments should be made
367. 15:11to improve things in the country first,
368. 15:14and then
369. 15:15yeah, we could look for those things.
370. 15:17Like it's like building a house and
371. 15:19you're not really like your ground is
372. 15:21not really settled and you're already
373. 15:24thinking about a very expensive
374. 15:27send the Lear or you know
375. 15:29>> Mhm.
376. 15:30>> So yeah, I think we still need to work a
377. 15:32lot and really set our priorities
378. 15:35>> Mhm.
379. 15:36>> to have
380. 15:37better results and profits, I'd say.
381. 15:39>> Mhm. Mhm.
382. 15:41And thinking about all of that and thank
383. 15:43you for sharing your your also your
384. 15:44critical view, right? Because it's
385. 15:46important that we also acknowledge that
386. 15:49there's potential but challenges.
387. 15:51>> Yes.
388. 15:52>> Um what is the impact that you think
389. 15:56you would like to bring to the sector
390. 15:57now preparing your your entry into the
391. 16:00to the workforce and how do you see
392. 16:03that?
393. 16:04>> Um I really want to help talking about
394. 16:07um Angolan specific once again, I really
395. 16:10would like to help like diversify
396. 16:13um the economy because
397. 16:1690% of the revenue of the state still
398. 16:19comes from the oil. So I think tourism
399. 16:22is very important and we could
400. 16:25also rely a lot on that.
401. 16:27And yeah, in a more global perspective I
402. 16:32really want to help create a more
403. 16:35inclusive, diversified
404. 16:37and impactful space and I think for
405. 16:40example industries, companies
406. 16:43>> Mhm.
407. 16:44>> could help in that sense like investing
408. 16:47in young talents, creating real world
409. 16:50real world opportunities.
410. 16:53Um yeah, because
411. 16:54globally speaking, there is a lot to be
412. 16:57done.
413. 16:58We are right now in a phase that we are
414. 17:01caring a lot about sustainability, the
415. 17:03environment. So those things should be
416. 17:07taken into account. So I see myself as
417. 17:10someone that could be
418. 17:13a role or representative for those
419. 17:16matters and yeah, I'm working towards
420. 17:18that and I'm committed to
421. 17:21help and work to increase or make
422. 17:25Angola and the world a better place. No,
423. 17:29yeah.
424. 17:30>> I agree. Thank you. Thank you, Swan. And
425. 17:32also thank you for, you know, sharing
426. 17:34your voice and your thoughts. It was
427. 17:36really great to to hear your passion
428. 17:39about the sector, about bringing impact
429. 17:42to Angola and and to the tourism
430. 17:44hospitality globally.
431. 17:46Uh I would also like to thank our
432. 17:48audience for following us so far.
433. 17:51Uh and stay tuned because we will have
434. 17:52more episodes coming for Tourism Tides.