Secretary of State for Tourism Ana Mendes Godinho guaranteed that the program to encourage the capture of new routes to Portuguese airports, namely that of Faro, Will continue.
The «Iniciative.pt» project, under which the State gives financial incentives to carriers to ensure lines from destinations considered strategic for tourism, should end at the end of this month, but the new PS Government intends to «continue it , in order to ensure that we continue to be competitive in terms of air access”.
This was one of the messages left by the government official, on the sidelines of a round of meetings she held this Monday with the presidents of AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community, the Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) and the Tourism Region , as part of a visit he made to the Algarve, the first of several to different parts of the country.
«As Portugal is a peripheral destination, air accessibility is essential if we want to be on the map of the most sought after destinations. The articulation with the Airport must be permanent, through mechanisms for capturing new routes, where we must continue the good work that has already been done and deepen it», he said.
In its most recent version, this program had a budget of 15 million euros, for its three years of validity, and the objective of increasing the number of passengers by 1,5 million at the different airports in Portugal.
Despite conveying the desire to deepen this project, Ana Mendes Godinho did not promise an increase in investment, neither in terms of encouraging new air routes, nor in terms of the region in general.
Ana Mendes Godinho: “We want to try to find ways to mitigate seasonality, together with public and private entities. To carry out networking, which allows diversifying the offer and finding ways to attract tourists, also in times when the Algarve, traditionally, is less sought after”
The Secretary of State for Tourism assured that she is aware of the importance of Algarve tourism for the national economy, which she intends to enhance, arguing that the proof of that attention is having chosen the Algarve for her first official visit. But when asked whether this could translate into increased investment in the region, she did not commit. «It translates into a great desire to work together, to find the best solutions», he said simply.
The president of the Algarve Tourism Region Desidério Silva, who has repeatedly pointed out the need for investment in the region to be more in line with the strong contribution that Algarve tourism makes to the national economy, did not enter "attack" and did not for now, make requests to the new secretary of state.
“I didn't make any requests. I think that, in the conversations we have, there will be a perception of what should be done in the region and I completely trust this approach. By the way, what we talked less about was budget issues. We focused on what could be a strategy for the region in which everyone assumes their responsibility», he said.
The desire to "know what's going on, listen to the problems and identify solutions together", was what motivated Ana Mendes Godinho's visit to the region, where she sought to "listen to people, to be with the populations, businessmen, but also meet with all regional public entities that have competences in the area of tourism».
One of these problems is seasonality, an issue that will have been at the center of conversations held by the Secretary of State for Tourism with the different public entities in the Algarve, and, later, with businessmen in the sector. This, he says, continues to be the great concern of the region's living forces, regardless of whether the numbers of tourist activity are currently “positive”.
“We want to try to find ways to mitigate seasonality, together with public and private entities. To carry out a network work, which allows diversifying the offer and finding ways to attract tourists, also in times when the Algarve, traditionally, is less sought after», he said.
Something that will be fundamental, argues Ana Mendes Godinho, is “the articulation between the public and private sector, to find transversal solutions that allow structured and global interventions”. For this, it will be necessary to work «a repositioning of the destination», so that «the life of the local population improves at all times of the year, and not just in high season».
A vision that is shared by Desidério Silva. «The solution to this great problem, which is seasonality, does not only pass through Turismo de Portugal and the Government. It also involves local authorities and other public and private entities, and this need to work in a network and in partnership», he considered.
The president of RTA also put the issue of tolls on Via do Infante on the table. «What I said to the secretary of State is what I said 3 years ago. It's not just the payment, it's also the way it's done. Here there has to be a streamlining of what is one of the impediments to the entry of the Spanish market in the Algarve, in addition to the blockade that it represents for residents», he said.
Also in this matter, there is a cautious approach on the part of Ana Mendes Godinho, who did not give any response either to RTA - which "did not ask for it" - or to journalists, claiming that "at this moment, it is time to survey the problems".
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