The Economy Minister said today that the Government is preparing a specific program to support the Algarve region, which is suffering the consequences of the fall in tourism, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It is necessary to pay very special attention to the Algarve region, which is extremely dependent on tourist activity", defended this morning the Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, before the deputies of the Economy, Innovation Commission , Public Works and Housing, in the Assembly of the Republic.
Thus, Pedro Siza Vieira said that the Government is preparing a specific program to support the region.
According to the Minister of Economy, this program has to be “much more decisive in order to help companies survive”, it must stimulate internal and external demand and help the tourism sector in the Algarve region to survive until the next summer.
Another component of the specific program for the Algarve, he said, must also be to “mitigate the very negative impact” on the income of people in the region.
“Tourism throughout the European Union is a very relevant activity. The European Union estimated a month and a half ago that tourist activity in the Union had a 60% reduction. What we are experiencing in the Algarve or Madeira region is not a specifically Portuguese problem”, he stressed.
“The European Union recognizes that highly tourist regions need specific support. They may even have been spared the pandemic, but they will be devastated from an economic point of view,” he added.
The economy minister did not give a date for the presentation of the program, but said that it will be soon.
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