The gastronomy and cultural offer of the Algarve were highlighted in a promotional action that the Algtarve Tourism Region promoted at the Consulate General of Portugal in Seville.
At this event, which was attended by over a hundred guests and representatives of the Andalusian media, the gastronomic project Algarve Cooking Vacations and the 4th edition of the cultural program “365Algarve” were presented.
There was also space for tasting regional cuisine and wines, in partnership with Tertúlia Algarvia and the Algarve Wine Route, and Algarve sweet orange, in partnership with the AlgarOrange association. The musical accompaniment was in charge of the Algarve's João Frade (accordion) and Sara Afonso (vocals) and the mountain singing group Moçoilas.
«The Algarve has a lot to offer, in addition to its beaches. We want the Spanish tourist to have the will and reasons to visit us at any time of the year, and culture and gastronomy are proposals that match perfectly», according to João Fernandes, president of RTA.
Bearing in mind that the idea is to bring our Andalusian neighbors (also) in the months outside the high season, RTA bet heavily on promoting “365Algarve”, «an intense cultural entertainment agenda, which will start in October with more than 400 events of theatre, music, art or dance”, and which lasts until May.
«This edition of the cultural program includes several novelties, such as the Forgotten Food Festival, with culinary experiences in monumental places, or the Out(In)Verno, which mixes science workshops, staged walks and artistic activities against the backdrop of mountain charms », according to the Algarve Tourism Region.
In the area of gastronomy and wine, the proposal presented was the Algarve Cooking Vacations, «an initiative that includes suggestions for culinary holidays from 3 to 7 days with accommodation and transport included, and gastronomic and oenological experiences based on traditional recipes and wines from the region . This program has already been recognized as Best 2018 Project in the International Brand category of the Travel Food Awards».
For João Fernandes, this promotional action carried out in Seville, «in addition to being an excellent opportunity to make known the tourist offer that the region has available to tourists throughout the year, aims to strengthen the proximity of the destination with the the Spanish market, making the positive contribution recorded in this outbound market increasingly relevant to the tourist performance of the Algarve».
According to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute, between January and July there was an increase of 21,9% in the number of Spanish guests, to a total of 229,9 thousand guests, and 13,2% in overnight stays, for a total of 604,8 thousand overnight stays in the first seven months of the year.
The action took place within the scope of promoting the tourist destination in the wider domestic market, «similar to the initiatives with a great promotional impact that preceded the summer high season, carried out with great success at the Portuguese Embassy in Madrid, with the support of the Tourism delegation of Portugal, and again at the Consulate General of Portugal in Seville.
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