15% of spectators of the third edition of 365 Algarve, running until May, indicated this program as the main reason for visiting the Algarve region, reveal data from the Interim Evaluation Report to 365 Algarve, prepared by the University of Algarve, to which the Sul Informação had access.
A number well above the 2% of the second edition and 5% of the first.
On the day that starts, in Alcoutim, one of the most original and successful events in the program – the Festival of Contraband -, it was also known that, of that group of spectators, 9% indicated that, without 365Algarve, they would have come to the region in the summer and another 9% in May, which attests to the importance of programming to mitigate seasonality.
On the other hand, according to data from the survey carried out by UAlg between October and December 2018, 18% of spectators spent the night at the event site and 30% had at least one meal in a nearby establishment.
Also according to the Interim Report, 69% of the tourists surveyed considered the experience of visiting the Algarve better than they expected.
365Algarve has been attracting more and more audiences and the average number of viewers per session has increased in all editions. Thus, in the first edition the average was 203, while in the third, which runs until next May, there is already an average of 446 people per session.
To date, more than 300 spectators have watched the events. In the last three years, 1553 initiatives were promoted, in a global investment of 4,5 million euros, financed by Turismo de Portugal.
At the same time, and although it is not only due to 365Algarve, overnight stays in the region during the low season increased by 23% since 2016. Reflecting this, the seasonality rate decreased from 46% in 2015 to 42,7% in 2018. Furthermore, in January and February of this year, passengers landed at the airport of Faro increased 22,2% and 19,1%, respectively.
Commenting on these data, Ângela Ferreira, Secretary of State for Culture, told the Sul Informação that «two months before the end of the 3rd edition of 365Algarve, the results are as encouraging as possible. With this partnership between the governmental areas of Culture and Tourism, we managed to attract more and more public to the Algarve through a diversified and quality cultural program».
For her part, Ana Mendes Godinho, Secretary of State for Tourism, noted that it is “a great satisfaction to see how 365Algarve is increasingly asserting itself as an important instrument to promote the Algarve as an attractive destination with life throughout the year. based on what is unique: the cultural richness of the region”.
«The growth of the main tourist indicators in the low season in the Algarve shows the capacity of tourism to be increasingly sustainable throughout the year, and this joint work between all is essential for this reduction in the seasonality rate to continue to happen», added Ana Mendes Godinho, in statements to Sul Informação.
But it is not just tourism and seasonality that 365Algarve has brought good results. The artistic creation of the Algarve region itself has benefited from this program, as highlighted by the Secretary of State for Culture in her statements to our newspaper. «There are 365Algarve shows that were born in the region, but are already circulating throughout the country. This effect of cultural entrepreneurship is very motivating. The program is also stimulating new orders and creations from local cultural structures, boosting the sector,” said Ângela Ferreira.
Examples of projects that managed to circulate nationwide, after having passed through the 365 Algarve, are the shows «carrip" is "Elastic».
In the first case, it is a project launched in the first edition, which has already made 48 performances across the country, with an innovative concept of mobile theater, where actors travel around in their vans.
As for «Elastic», it is a project of the 3rd edition in progress, which, in addition to four performances in the Algarve, has already had as many in Lisbon, at the Teatro Ibérico.
The data in the Interim Report, as the name implies, are only provisional, being updated at the end of the 3rd edition, in May.
365Algarve is a cultural program that runs through all the Algarve's municipalities in the low season months, always taking place between October and May. It has three editions so far (2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019), and a fourth edition has already been announced between October this year and May 2020.
The program is developed by the members of the Government in the areas of Culture and Tourism and built from the proposals of cultural and tourist entertainment agents, exclusively based in the Algarve.
It has an annual budget of 1,5 million euros, paid by Turismo de Portugal. The Ministry of Culture ensures the artistic coordination of the programming and the analysis of applications, as well as the management, together with the Algarve Tourism Region.
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