It offers discounts, aggregates the most varied services available to those visiting the region and even guarantees security for tourists, with a helpline and agreements with hospitals, if they so wish. The Algarve Pass, a «facilitator of tourists' stays», was launched this week by Turismo do Algarve, at a party that took place at Água Moments space, in Vilamoura.
The idea of the promoters of the new Algarve tourism card is to make available to tourists something “innovative and differentiating”, in relation to competing destinations in the Algarve. This will not be the first tourist card to be launched in the world, but its characteristics and the «high technological nature» it introduces make it different, said João Parrilha, general director of the company «Process Card», which he developed. This Product.
This aggregator of services turns out to be also a way to encourage tourists to join different experiences in different parts of the region, promoting nest tourism, such as cultural, environmental and adventure tourism, among others.
«We intend to show what the genuine Algarve is, to show what is best. There's a lot of good stuff in the region that most people don't know about and we want to show that,” he told the Sul informação John Parrilha.
And the best part, in the view of the Algarve Regional Tourism Authority (ERTA), is that the Algarve Pass will not cost money, since «only the private entity» will invest, guaranteed the person responsible for the Process Card.
A tourist who joins the Algarve Pass can start taking advantage of it even before leaving home. Since the card "has centralized information", it is possible to "organize holidays from a distance" through it.
Once in the region, the tourist card gives access “to the transport network, to some of the most emblematic events, to museums”, as well as to other services. There are many tourist companies that have already signed up for the card, so it is possible to easily access a variety of experiences, such as trips in the Ria Formosa or dolphin discovery, parasailing, jetboat or motorcycle trike rides, just to give examples of some of the 150 initiatives proposed by the Algarve Pass.
The card also includes the «Safe Trip» functionality, with various packages, such as «a 24-hour helpline in case of emergency, protocols with the most modern hospitals in the Algarve guaranteeing any type of assistance at exclusive prices, personalized taxi service and access to contacts of security forces'.
By using the card, the visitor (or the person from the Algarve, if they adhere to the card) earns points, which can be exchanged for regional products, at ERTA Tourist Offices.
For the president of ERTA, the entity promoting this project, the launch of this card was «a symbolically important moment for the Algarve», not only for the product itself, but mainly because it is «a sign that agents must work in a network». «There are several agents in the sector and fantastic products from the region involved», considered Desidério Silva. Products whose complementarity to Sun and Beach «can help combat seasonality».
«I want to emphasize here that ERTA believes in this project and is doing the best for the region. We all have to gain with the Algarve Pass», considered Desidério Silva.
The card will be available at Algarve Tourist Offices «next week» and also on the Algarve Pass website. Those who choose to purchase it in person may ask for support from the technicians at these posts, who “will be trained to teach people how to use it”.
This project resulted from a partnership between ERTA, Process Card and ACRAL. The technological component was, in part, developed by the Algarve company Algardata.
Comments