A few days ago, a consultant defended, at a conference in Lisbon, that Tourism in Portugal should increasingly bet on the online channel.
I put the link to this news in a Facebook group I'm part of, called Niche Tourism – Nature Tourism and I made the following comment: «The Algarve should have had a real internet portal for a long time, where tourists could find all the information about the offer available. And when I say the whole offer, it is really the whole offer – from 5-star hotels to local accommodation, including apartments and rural tourism; from monuments and museums (with updated schedules), to tours and circuits on foot, by bicycle, on horseback, by car, signaled or not; from transfer companies to active and nature tourism companies; from golf courses to water parks, etc, etc. Just see how it's done out there (and this is a phrase I don't like to use…because I think we should be smart enough to learn from others and to innovate)».
This comment of mine generated some curious reactions, from people linked to nature tourism and, above all, from people linked to the Algarve Regional Tourism Entity. These reactions, unfortunately, didn't translate into comments to my Facebook post, but into phone calls I received.
The general idea that they wanted to give me is that the Algarve Tourism portal on the internet is very good and has all the information I mentioned. It is true that the portal visitalgarve.pt is much better today, much more complete than when it was launched. In fact, it would look bad if it hadn't evolved.
But I still feel that this portal still doesn't have all the information, all the links, that it should have. And I don't even say that the fault of this is only the Algarve Tourism.
It is sad, for example, that from the visitalgarve portal it is not possible to access complete, useful and easy-to-use information about the Natural Parks and other protected areas in the Algarve. The fault, I'm told, is with the Nature Conservation Institute.
But, whatever the fault of whoever it is, the truth is that if a tourist wants to plan a visit to the Ria Formosa Natural Park, and wants to know in advance everything he can and cannot do or visit there, he will not find information… Nor on the ICNB website, nor on the Algarve Tourism website…
As I said earlier, I don't like to be invoking what others do out there, as if everything that comes from abroad is good. But the truth is that, in this case, I really have to say that it is not necessary to be always inventing the wheel: just copy – and well! – what other tourist regions do throughout Europe.
I belong to that category of tourists, increasingly abundant, who, before going on vacation, search the internet for everything that has to do with the topic – from plane tickets to accommodation, from rent-a-car to bus schedules and trains, from car routes to walking tours, from timetables to monuments and museums, to restaurants, shops of traditional products, cultural offer.
It may be that I'm not used to it, but the truth is that I have found, on websites in several countries, all the information I need. And this is up-to-date information! In Portugal, unfortunately, this has not happened! And it's unfortunate!
Note: This is the text of my Thursday's chronicle on RUA FM radio, under the heading “I have Dito”, which can be heard in person. here
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