The first edition of the Nature Tourism Biennial will take place from September 26th to 28th in Aljezur, announced Associação Vicentina, project leader.
In a statement sent to Sul Informação by Vicentina's management, the association emphasizes that the date set is the “most consensual”, after consultation with other project partners.
Vicentina «consulted the various partner entities, the municipalities involved and other significant partners in order to consider the best date for holding the Biennial of Nature Tourism, to be held in Aljezur this year».
This need for consultation “resulted from strong reactions regarding the possibility of holding the Biennial of Nature Tourism and the Birdwatching Festival on the same date, both events related to nature tourism, to be held on 4 and 5 October in the municipalities of Aljezur and Vila do Bispo, respectively».
These "strong reactions" happened on several occasions, but especially in the pages do Sul Informação, in a controversy that spanned three opinion articles signed, respectively, by Ana Carla Cabrita, nature guide and owner of a Nature Tourism company based in Sagres, António ferreira, tourist entrepreneur from the municipality of Vila do Bispo, consultant for Proder managed by Vicentina and one of the promoters of the Bienal de Turismo de Natureza in Aljezur, and by the company itself Vincentian direction.
From the consultation made to the various partners and entities, that association says it was convinced that «it would be positive to promote synergies between both events, mutually enhancing them, through their concerted organization, which is not the understanding of several other actors».
Vicentina also considers that «the joint realization of nature tourism events should be a practice to be considered in the future, by the various actors, since it allows the creation of synergies between partners and leverage resources, contrary to the individualized realization of events or initiatives without concertation human and financial efforts in terms of logistics, promotion and organization", adding that "the joint holding of events adds value and impact to these events, as well as their impact on the development of nature tourism, as it can give greater dimension and projection to them».
However, taking into account the controversy that arose, and «taking into account the lack of consensus and the reactions triggered, including an explicit request from the Almargem Association for the holding of the Biennial of Nature Tourism and the Birdwatching Festival to be delayed in time », the Vicentina Association says that it considered «it was appropriate to put the matter to the consideration of the RTA [Algarve Tourism Region], at a meeting held on April 4th».
From this reflection, it was concluded that «the holding of the Biennial of Nature Tourism on the 26th, 27th and 28th of September is more consensual».
«These dates deserved the agreement of the partner entities and the municipalities involved. This avoids speculation and, considering that the date precedes the high season for nature tourism in autumn, it is possible to disclose it in good time and avoids the coincidence with other events in the same theme and geographical area", he adds. the Vincentian.
The association says it hopes «now to be able to concentrate its efforts on organizing the “Nature Tourism Biennial”, «concentrating the promotion and dissemination of the Algarve's Nature Tourism offer in an exhibition show and complementary activities».
Associação Vicentina is the managing entity of GAL ADERE and leader of the project “Nature Tourism Biennial”, financed by PRODER, within the scope of transnational cooperation, and executed in partnership with Associação In Loco (GAL Interior Algarve Central) and Terras do Baixo Guadiana Association (GAL Terras do Baixo Guadiana).
In the opinion article signed by Vicentina's management and published in the Sul Informação last week, the association explained that, for “technical reasons”, “the Bienal has to take place in October. It is a transnational cooperation project that has a maximum duration of two years and ends in November 2014».
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