Getting to know the University of Algarve (UAlg), understanding what is done there both in the pedagogical and scientific fields in the area of Tourism and revealing some of the Government's concerns in relation to this sector of activity were the main objectives of the visit that the Secretary of State for Tourism Adolfo Mesquita Nunes made this Monday to the Algarve university, which was followed by a working meeting.
An unusual initiative by the head of the Government's Tourism portfolio and, as such, “refreshing”, in the view of the Rector of UAlg João Guerreiro. Also because, considered the person in charge of the university, there is a lot of knowledge produced that could be useful to public entities in this area.
Adolfo Nunes started a three-day visit to the region yesterday, at the invitation of the Regional Tourism Authority of the Algarve (ERTA). After having been at UAlg yesterday afternoon, the member of Government is going to Alvor, Portimão, this morning to do a dive among ships sunk under the 'Ocean Revival' project.
Yesterday, after the meeting that brought together the member of the Government, the Rector, professors and researchers from UAlg and the president and vice president of ERTA, Adolfo Nunes explained to Sul Informação that the objective of the session «was to discuss some ideas about the structuring of the tourism product, the problems and solutions for the Algarve, about the institutional organization of tourism in Portugal and reflect on the courses given here».
A “joint reflection”, where Adolfo Nunes realized his “sensitivities” and received opinions from the academic world in exchange. "I came here to try to bring the academic community closer to public and political decision-making in Portugal, in terms of tourism," said the secretary of state.
A communication channel that does not always work in the best way, since «often you study, research, but knowledge remains in the academic bubble». An issue that the Dean of UAlg also wants to mitigate.
«We have been producing Master's and Doctoral theses, which are reflections on various aspects of Tourism, which today number 230. It is up to us to externally promote this knowledge developed and accumulated in the university, so that it does not result only in obtaining academic degrees», revealed João Guerreiro.
At the meeting, according to the Rector of UAlg, the university sought to reflect with Adolfo Nunes "what we can do to improve the region's performance and to have a better articulation between the various sectors that can serve to enrich Tourism."
“He is someone who took over the position a short time ago and who, not coming from the tourism sector, is trying to find out about the initiatives that we all develop in this area. It was a very positive conversation, as we were able to expose our guidelines and our strategies in the fields of training and research», considered João Guerreiro, in relation to the government official.
The head of the UAlg highlighted that it is not usual to have this type of interaction with the holders of the Government Tourism portfolio. “It's refreshing, it's new. We just have to congratulate ourselves on this measure and hopefully it won't be the last one,” he said.
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