Cascais and Miami in twinning plan
US luxury boutique tour operator Immersa Global has created a Sister City connection between Miami Beach and Cascais.
The official twinning took place in late December with a 26-person delegation led by Commissioner Michael Gongora from Miami Beach and the Mayor of Cascais Carlos Carreiras.
The official Miami Beach delegation travelled to Cascais to take part in the signing ceremony that joined the two cities in a partnership intended to foster friendship, cultural exchange, trade and tourism.
Bu this global connection may never have been forged had it not been for the skills and local connections of Sheree M. Mitchell, President and Founder of Immersa Global who voluntarily mediated the process on behalf of both cities.
Immersa Global is the first American-owned and operated boutique tour operator and travel curator in Portugal, specialising in exclusive and unique food, wine, art and culture-based travel experiences.
“The City of Miami Beach asked me to identify a city in Portugal that would be the idea Sister City for them. As someone who’s originally from Miami and now living in Portugal and working in tourism, I was honoured to be given this exciting and important task,” explains Sheree.
She eventually narrowed the search down to Cascais after learning that the cities shared several similarities. Both rely strongly on local service-sector-based economies (especially for tourism) and both have been places of refuge for affluent immigrants.
Miami Beach and Cascais are also well known for their world-famous beach towns, luxury real estate markets, strong presence of ethnic and cultural diversity and fresh local seafood. Both cities are also important historically within the Jewish diaspora.
“Through my local contacts in Portugal I was able to request a meeting directly with Mayor Carlos Carreiras of Cascais to see if he was interested in twinning with Miami Beach and he immediately agreed and both cities later approved the process.”
“It was such an honour to be given the opportunity to link my US home with my new home in Portugal,” says Sheree. “The two cities have so much in common culturally that it felt like a natural fit.”
Comments, questions, observations? Join the conversation HERE.