An initiative where “there are no chapels” and which “has to help us anticipate the future”. This is how the Secretary of State for Tourism Ana Mendes Godinho sees the Observatory for Sustainable Tourism, launched today by the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA) on the Lisbon Tourism Exchange (BTL).
This new operational instrument was created «with the objective of studying, analyzing and monitoring the tourist performance of the destination in the areas of economic, social and environmental sustainability» and will be developed in partnership with the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Algarve) and the University of Algarve (UAlg), according to RTA.
The Observatory for Sustainable Tourism of the Algarve will provide the Algarve regional tourism entity «with specific and detailed knowledge about the region, which will support the definition of the strategy and will support tourism development and competitiveness, ensuring preservation and enhancement identity, heritage and local values, as strategic assets».
João Fernandes, president of RTA, has no doubts that the observatory “will create better conditions for the sustainable management of the tourist destination and mark a pioneering position in the context of Portuguese tourist regions and even in the international panorama. With the creation of this instrument, we signal our proactivity, obtaining important gains in image and notoriety for the region».
«This is an important step and this is the way to go», considered João Fernandes, during the observatory's presentation session.
Luís Araújo, president of Turismo de Portugal, believes that a destination, in order to be competitive, «must be more sustainable. We cannot move forward with ideas and projects without measuring what we have. It is important to know who is going to the algarve, what they do and what moves them».
«This is one of the measures of the Tourism 2027 Strategy, which aims to position the destination in terms of competitiveness and sustainability. The sustainability of tourist destinations is an absolute priority of tourism policy in Portugal. With the creation of the Sustainable Tourism Observatory in the Algarve, we have created the conditions for the planning and management of the largest national tourist region to be based on in-depth knowledge of the impacts of the activity on the territory, incorporating the best international practices in this matter», added Luís Araújo.
RTA is not going alone to this challenge. With it are the University of Algarve and CCDR Algarve.
From the academy comes knowledge, without which «we cannot be more competitive», said the dean of UAlg Paulo Águas, who confessed that he was «with great joy and responsibility to be present at the observatory».
“Economic agents with more knowledge make better decisions. The observatory will thus contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the Algarve. With training in the Tourism area since 1991 and with solid levels of research, proven by its presence in the Shanghai ranking, the University of Algarve will be committed to contributing to the Observatory becoming a reference for (and for) the region», reinforced the rector from the algarvian university
The CCDR Algarve, more precisely its president Francisco Serra, affirms the expectation that, «in the future, we will be able to present concrete results on this observatory. The initiative makes it possible to strengthen regional cohesion, creating daily working ties».
Tourism «constitutes a fundamental pillar of the regional economy, but it can and should leverage opportunities in other sectors, as we foreseen in our Regional Strategy for Smart Specialization, namely with the sea, health and agri-food», believes Francisco Serra.
O Sul Informação is on the Lisbon Tourism Exchange, the main fair for the sector in Portugal, and followed this presentation closely. As always, this is a forum used by many entities in the Algarve to come up with news, which our newspaper will report on.
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