Transforming company and group travel to be more sustainable for the individual, the environment and the local communities.
Big Idea
At Wide Ocean Retreat they help people realise their retreat dreams. They’re a venture capital backed start-up with a mission – transforming company and group travel to be more sustainable for the individual, the environment and the local communities.
What problem or need does this project respond to?
- No time to plan a retreat: lack of structure in Portugal, it’s really hard to find a suitable venue for the different group sizes and requirements. There is no official database that helps with this. One can spend weeks and months to hear back from different venues just to find out they are not suitable.
- Trust issues: When booking activities and meals from far away without ever having tried them, many things can go wrong. We test and trial all our partners and provide social proof for retreat organisers to rest assured that their retreat will go well
- Peace of mind: with over 7 years of experience we know that a retreat never goes as planned. If people are inexperienced with retreat planning, they are grateful to have a professional agency doing this for them and being on site to support.
- Lack of local knowledge: people are looking for unique, transformative and local experiences. Our knowledge about Portugal, its traditions and culture, and our network of unique experience providers help our people live this.
Activity Highlights
- Tourism Explorers – first place in Lisbon 2019
- NEST – 20 best tourism startups 2020
- TOURISM 4.0 – 2023
- The Break Fellowship Program – UE female entrepreneurship May 2023
- Toronto Collision Websummit with Startup Lisboa Portuguese delegation, June 2023
Team
António Martins – Co-Founder; Lisa Lohman – Co-Founder
Portugal Ventures’ Investment Manager
