The Adere Local Action Group – which includes the municipalities of Monchique, Vila do Bispo, Aljezur, Lagos, Portimão and Silves – sent a letter to the Minister of Economy Álvaro Santos Pereira, in which it questions the absence of Nature Tourism, health and well-being. be in the National Strategic Tourism Plan for the Algarve.
In a letter signed by Rui André, Mayor of Monchique, the GAL says that it is aware that Turismo de Portugal may instruct the Algarve Tourism Association so that, «in 2012, it does not carry out promotional actions around the nature or other tourism, privileging and understanding as strategic products the sun and beach, golf, incentives and residential tourism" and reveals "strangeness for the non-inclusion / bet on health and well-being in Nature Tourism, implicitly linked to the territories where they intervene the LAGs in the Algarve».
According to the document to which the Sul Informação had access, for the GAL – Adere, “it would be a blunder not to recognize the enormous opportunities arising from the proximity to the tourist complex of the South and the beach in territories of absolutely unusual quality and environmental value, especially at a stage in which nature, the environment and the activities associated with it are in clear expansion».
For this reason, Rui André, in the letter addressed to the Minister of Economy, on behalf of the three LAGs in the Algarve, hopes that the situation will be reversible and subject to change by Álvaro Santos Pereira.
The GAL Adere also considers that, «if this is true, this situation destroys the work of various entities and private individuals in order to place, with all legitimacy, these tourist products as one of the key products for the Algarve».
The fact that the nature, health and well-being tourist market covers «more than 22 million people in Europe» is also highlighted, as well as the application of the Algarve LAGs, with an investment of over half a million euros, having with a view to investing in nature tourism as a way to guarantee the sustainability of these sparsely populated territories».
Finally, the idea is reinforced that «it will not be understandable that the strategy of Turismo de Portugal, for the Algarve, does not clearly and unequivocally reflect that, in addition to sun and beach, golf, incentives and residential tourism, the nature, health and well-being tourism is not included” in the PENT.
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