The Odiana Association reiterated on Friday, in the presentation of the results of the Uaditurs project, its willingness to develop more cross-border projects in the new programming period 2014-2020. The representatives of the Algarve and Huelva Tourism also intend to «make necessity a virtue» and bet on greater sustainability in frontier tourism.
The closing seminar of the Uaditurs project served for the director of Associação Odiana to present the results of cross-border cooperation and to reinforce the association's interest in continuing to invest in cooperation with Alentejo and Andalusia, considering it as the «strategy for the future» of the Lower Guadiana.
"We have to start working in the future and this is a project to continue and take advantage of the important resources we have in the territory, and Odiana is available to continue this work," said Valter Matias, director of Odiana.
The objective is to bet on the new programming period 2014-2020, namely in the cooperation between Portugal and Spain, at the level of Interreg VA Spain – Portugal (POCTEP), which was launched on the 23rd of September, in Portalegre, and in which Odiana participated.
Within the scope of the tourist development of the Guadiana lane, there were the responsible for tourism in the Algarve and Huelva, who spoke about the benefits of the proximity relationship between regions.
"We now have a strong commitment to nature tourism, heritage and the Mediterranean diet, products with high potential and more focused on low density territories, such as the municipalities of Alcoutim and Castro Marim", explained the president of the Algarve Tourism Region.
Desidério Silva added that the Uaditurs project can be seen as the “embryo of a relationship that can and should be more sustained, creating bridges for visiting the region as a whole”.
The person in charge of the Patronato de Turismo de Huelva, Jordi Marti, highlighted the immense potential of the territory and the union of neighboring peoples, recalling that in favor of development “necessity must be a virtue”.
The presentation of the results of the Uaditurs project took place at the headquarters of the Común de Desarollo Transfronterizo Agency, in Huelva, and focused on an inland strategy as a complement to the combination of sun and beach.
For this, actions were promoted such as the implementation and dynamization of routes, rehabilitation of infrastructures, conservation and restoration of heritage elements, among others.
The seminar was organized by Diputación de Huelva, a partner of the Uaditurs project, of which Odiana is the Lead Partner, a cooperation initiative between the Algarve, Alentejo and Andalusia, financed by the Portugal – Spain Cross-border Cooperation Program 2007-2013 (POCTEP ).
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