More nautical tourism and, in addition, the arrival of “other visitors” to the Algarve. The Baixo Guadiana Nautical Station has already started work and, in the vision of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), is diversifying the offer of the destination «through a strategic tourist product for the region, representing around 4,8 million people. primary travel in Europe'.
The project for the nautical station «will involve, above all, the dynamization of the nautical component of the Municipal Sports Complex of Vila Real de Santo António and will have a center of high performance for nautical activities». This strategy was made official in an action protocol signed last week between the RTA, the municipalities of Guadiana – Vila Real de Santo António, Castro Marim, Alcoutim and Mértola, in Portugal, and Ayamonte, in Spain – and the Associação Naval do Guadiana.
The Baixo Guadiana Nautical Station «intends to be the convergence point in the east of the Algarve for nautical activities such as sailing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, wakeboarding, canoeing, diving, boating or sport fishing and will combine nautical services with tourist services and activities such as the accommodation, gastronomy, cycle tourism or hiking», described the RTA.
«It is a concept of integrating the offer with quality criteria, ranging from accommodation to the capacity of shipbuilding, through culture and sport, and which is clearly compatible with the strategy defined by the RTA for diversifying the destination's offer. In addition to the main attractions of sun and sea, golf and residential tourism, which are already consolidated, opportunities must be created to attract other visitors», according to João Fernandes, president of the Algarve Tourism Region.
"There is a multiplicity of activities that can be developed in Baixo Guadiana, not only in low season, but also for markets for which there are already air accesses and for which the Algarve has a strong reputation," he added.
This new project will also bring benefits to the interior of the region and to territorial cohesion. João Fernandes emphasizes that «an interesting work has already been done by the Associação Naval do Guadiana regarding the existing offer. But it is also important to analyze their performance, because sometimes we have difficulty in measuring the number of vessels, their nationality, length of stay or average expense».
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