Óbidos, UNESCO City of Literature: stimulating local economy and the SMEs

Óbidos has been implementing a tourism strategy based on event tourism that has placed this town in the forefront of the national cultural scene. Events such as the Medieval Fair, the International Chocolate Festival and Óbidos Christmas Village have been staples of the cultural and tourist programming and strategic in creating new businesses and jobs. However, there was a need to diversify the offer and the Óbidos Literary City was established. The Town Hall was instrumental in promoting the strategy and has been able to attract the private sector CCIs to the historic town that has long been victim to desertification. Attracting new businesses and new residents is at the top of Óbidos’ Municipal Development Plan.
As a result, the literary strategy has motivated the private sector CCIs leading to the emergence of new projects that substantiate their businesses in the area of literature. An example is the Literary Man Hotel, a literature themed hotel of international reference, which includes different books distributed worldwide by thematic collection; or the History Man, a restaurant and grocery store closely linked to local identity and literature. In 2019, a graphic arts atelier and a bookstore of old and rare books opened in Óbidos. Besides the new entrepreneurial endeavours, others have also adapted their business to this new strategy. Hotels are creating specific areas linked to literature and books and restaurants are creating menus honouring some renowned authors.