Tourism boards and tourists across the world should take heed of Visit Portugal's message about the international COVID-19 outbreak. It is a calming, instructive message, and a hopeful one.
Says the ad's narrator: “It's time to stop. It's time to look out for each other in the distance. Time to stare humanity in the eyes, to take a break for the world. It's time to stop. Time to take a pause, so we can play again. To think of everyone, and meet no one. To reset, recenter, switch off, to move on. Time to change our little world, to calibrate the path of mankind. It's time to stop. We are meant to connect, and we are stronger together, but separated, we are today more united than ever. And for now our main strength is to be apart.”
“Nature, landscapes, beaches and monuments aren't going anywhere,” the ad continues. “They will still be there waiting for a better time to be lived. And we must do the same for a while. It's time to stop. The perfect time not to visit anything. Sometimes to rise is to stand still. It's time to stop, stop and think of ourselves, think of everyone else too. It's time to stop and refocus as a whole, for all. It's time to understand and respect our times, respect one another. The faster we stop the sooner we will bond again. It's time to dream of those amazing days to come.”
