The festival dedicated to bird watching that took place in Sagres, last weekend, had very positive results, as, in addition to 700 participants, 116 birds were sighted.
While last year 105 species of birds had been observed, in 2011 the bar rose a little more and participants found 116 species, of which 16 were birds of prey. There were also 14 marine species sighted and a very rare bird observed in the Algarve and Portugal – the Codornizão – as it is now almost extinct in the national territory and in several European countries.
For the organization, the results were very positive, having surpassed the expectations and numbers of the 2010 edition, so there are more than enough reasons to look forward to the third edition in 2012.
According to data provided this Tuesday by the organization, “in relation to 2010, the number of foreign visitors has increased significantly, with tourists traveling alone or in organized groups from countries where the birdwatching activity is quite high. developed, such as Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, United States of America, Canada, France and Spain».
In turn, in this edition, the organizers managed to involve a greater number of business agents in the region, both in catering and accommodation, as well as in tourist entertainment. The feedback points to the fact that all of them received tourists and, in some cases, the services they provided during the festival were exhausted.
With regard to media coverage and dissemination, the Bird Watching Festival of Sagres has always been the target of national, regional and international media attention, which led to the presence of foreign journalists who will now publicize the event, in an early invitation to the 2012 edition, and highlight the region's natural values.
The number of visitors reached 700, of which a good portion were foreigners. However, there was the adhesion of many Portuguese, university students or schools in the region, a senior group, a group of people with special educational needs and several residents of the municipality who showed interest in the initiative. Over the three days, 83 activities were carried out, almost all of which were sold out.
Thinking about the third edition, which will be in October of next year, the organization of the Festival of Observation of Sagres, promoted by the municipality of Vila do Bispo in partnership with the SPEA and Almargem associations, are very satisfied with the results.
The event also had the partnership of Turismo do Algarve, Turismo de Portugal, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, Strix – Ambiente e Inovação and Associação Rias, and had the support of Sagres, Ecoinside and Ubiwhere, Martinhal Resort , Memo Baleeira, Pousadas de Portugal, Navigator ApartHotel, 4 Ventos Tourist Apartments, Sagres Time Apartments, Mira Sagres Hotel, Unlimited Sea, Cape Cruiser, Walk in Sagres and Sagres T-Shirts.
The event was co-financed by PO Algarve, under the Via Algarviana 2 project, which is led by Associação Almargem.
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