The Barril Project was officially launched just over a week ago, but it has already started to prepare for the future, with the seminar «Senior and Accessible Tourism: the future passes here!», last Thursday, at the Pedras tourist development D'el Rei, in Tavira.
The commitment to promoting senior tourism is one of the bases of the territory development project launched by a consortium headed by the Tavirense tourism enterprise and the University of Algarvand, which is inspired by the methodology used in the «Projeto Querença», which has been replicated throughout Portugal.
The general director of the Pedras D'el Rei tourism enterprise António Almeida Pires, the professor at UAlg Aurízia Anica and the Portuguese Tourism consultant Ana Garcia were the invited speakers to participate in this initiative, which was moderated by Fátima Catarina, representative of Tourism of the Algarve.
During the seminar, the numbers of this niche tourism market, which grew ten percent between 2006 and 2011 were discussed. This makes Senior tourism the segment that, «in the long term, will have more growth and importance in the tourism sector», according to Almeida Pires, former vice president of the Algarve Tourism Region.
The success of a strategy aimed at this market niche will always be linked to health and well-being. A topic addressed by Aurízia Anica, who spoke of Gerontology, both in the medical and social aspects.
Ana Garcia defended that «everyone should have the right to accessibility, whether at work, in social life and in tourism» and that «accessible tourism only exists if it is throughout the entire tourism value chain and as an integrated whole, allowing for visitor to have autonomy, freedom and independence in the experience and activity they want».
A reflection that intends to serve as a basis for part of the work that 13 interns will develop in that territory, based on the former Tuna Armação and the current Barril seaside resort.
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