The General Assembly of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA) and the Hotel Association of Portugal (AHP) joined the group of entities that went public to welcome the Government's decision to cancel the oil prospecting and exploration concessions with Portfuel (onshore) and with the Repsol/Partex consortium (offshore).
Tourism agents, very critical of the previous Government's decision to grant prospecting and exploration rights for hydrocarbons in the Algarve, on land and at sea, expressed their "huge satisfaction" with the cancellation of the contracts, reaffirming that this was an activity which could seriously threaten the dynamics of tourism, the region's main industry.
«The eventual realization of a highly polluting and dangerous activity, such as prospecting and exploitation of hydrocarbons along the Algarve coast, would jeopardize any ecological and environmental balance, affect the lives of populations and destroy tourism. It is a hypothesis that Turismo do Algarve could not even consider», according to Álvaro Viegas, chairman of the Board of the General Assembly of RTA.
An idea that is reinforced by AHP. «It is with great satisfaction that we receive the news of the Government's intention to proceed with the process of terminating the contracts that were planned for the Algarve. As we had already stated, the oil industry is not compatible with Tourism and with the largest national tourist destination and would lead to the loss of huge millions of euros in revenue», reinforced Raul Martins, president of AHP, in a public statement by the association that he directs.
The future of the region, added Raul Martins, goes through «the commitment to sustainable tourism, which lives from the excellence of our natural resources and which justifies special protection measures such as the creation of Natural Parks, such as the Natural Park of Sudoeste Alentejano and Costa Vicentina, is not compatible with prospecting and exploration of oil and gas».
«In other words, from an economic point of view, there are reasons to stop such exploration/prospecting because it makes another activity of enormous importance to Portugal unfeasible, such as, recognisably, Tourism. Moreover, the tourist and real estate investments that have been carried out throughout the Alentejo and Algarve coasts, as a form of national and international promotion, are well known», considered the president of AHP.
Taking this into account, Raul Martins wants the contracts still in force to have the same purpose as those that have already been cancelled.
on the part of the RTA, there is also a guarantee that this was a subject that had been "followed with concern by the responsible of the Algarve Tourism, the Algarve's municipalities and the main players in the sector", taking into account the impact environment that oil exploration and exploration could have.
«The Algarve is a natural destination that strives for safety, quality of life and diversity of offer, attributes that fit very well into what is today the main motivation of tourists», defended the president of RTA Desidério Silva.
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