Guided visits to old factories, mines, mills, wineries, gin and medronho distilleries, museums, canning or cork factories, salt pans and riverside areas, as well as other spaces and activities linked to memory and industrial culture. These are some of the activities that, from the 16th to the 30th of March, will make Portugal “Discover Industrial Tourism”.
The 3rd edition of the initiative, which has a total of 179 activities, from North to South of the country, including the Azores, was presented on Thursday, the 7th, at the III Meeting of Partners of the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network, in Aljustrel (Beja), where the “state of the art” of this network was presented.
In the Algarve, 22 activities are planned, while Alentejo will have 13 initiatives.
Therefore, in the Algarve region, a guided visit to the NF Cork cork factory, in Torre Natal (Faro), another Guided visit to the Artisan Canned Fish Factory – Conserveira do Arade, located in the Industrial Zone of Pateiro (Lagoa), as well as the Winery and Cellars of Quinta dos Vales (Lagoa).
At Quinta da Tôr (Loulé), there will be a guided tour and wine tasting, an egg hunt with wine tasting and tapas, while the Loulé rock salt mine, owned by TechSalt, offers a Mining Experience and also a Mining Tour and Salt Experiences.
In Monchique, at Lagar dos Pardieiros, an olive oil and medronho tasting will take place, while in Moncarapacho (Olhão), the Monterosa Nurseries They promote a guided visit to the olive grove, oil press and olive oil tasting. Also in Olhão, a guided visit to the Salinas do Grelha is planned.
The Portimão Museum, itself built in an old canning factory, promotes a visit to the Alvor riverside area and its maritime-fishing tradition, as well as the activity “In the time of the factories”. The canning industry is also in evidence when visiting the exhibition “Journey through the Canning Industry”, at the Municipal Historical Archive (Vila Real de Santo António).
In São Brás de Alportel, there will be a guided tour of the former Conservation Section of the Autonomous Roads Board – EN2 Memory House, as well as another guided tour and cork workshop at Eco Fábrica de Cortiça, at Sítio da Mesquita Baixa (São Brás de Alportel), and also a visit to the Pecoliva olive oil mill.
In Silves, the wineries promote activities. Therefore, a visit and wine tasting at the Cabrita Wines winery is scheduled, as well as a visit to the winery with Wine Tasting and a tour of the Paxá Wines vineyard.
For Tavira, a guided visit to the Helder Madeira olive processing factory is scheduled.
As for Alentejo, a visit to the Aljustrel Mining Park, as well as Herdade da Figueirinha, to learn about its production of Wine, Olive Oil and Almonds (Beja), or even a visit to the Lagar Museu – Olive Oil at Castelo de Marvão.
In the old Minas de São Domingos (Mértola), there will be the activities Cine Mina, Oficina da Memória and Miners visit each other, while the Fábrica do Arroz (Ponte de Sor) hosts a Treasure Hunt.
Other activities planned are the Quinta Black Pig Trail, the technical visit to the Gin distillery and the workshop Learn how to prepare a perfect Gin and tonic, at Herdade do Sobral (Santiago do Cacém).
To get to know the rattles, a world heritage site, a guided visit to Chocalhos Pardalinho is scheduled, as well as the Chocalheiro workshop for a day, in Alcáçovas (Viana do Alentejo). Finally, there will be a Marble Tour in Vila Viçosa.
Some of these activities are paid and all require prior booking. Click here to see the complete schedule across the country (PDF).
The initiative “Discovering Industrial Tourism” aims to be “very oriented towards the Portuguese public, to discover and disseminate a whole set of activities and experiences that take place in industrial tourism resources”, explained the coordinator of the Grupo Dinamizador da Rede Portuguesa do Industrial Tourism, Teresa Ferreira.
According to this person, who is also director of the Department of Promotion of Tourist Resources at Turismo de Portugal, the 1st edition of this initiative, in 2022, had “around 2.500 participants in a set of 100 activities”, a number that, in 2023, increased to “4.000 participants, with more activities”. “We would really like this year’s agenda to increase in the number of participants,” she added.
Of the total of 179 activities across the country, 82 will take place in the area of influence of the Regional Tourism Entity (ERT) of Porto and North of Portugal. In the Central region, 51 activities are planned, while in the Algarve there will be 22 and in Alentejo and Ribatejo 15. The program also includes five activities in the ERT area of the Lisbon Region and four more in the Azores.
For Teresa Ferreira, this type of activities linked to industry “has everything to do with the identity of the territories”. “These are activities that communities recognize and a way to discover certain regions in a different way”, she highlighted.
Furthermore, he continued, “the interaction of tourism with other sectors of activity is also very important as the sector's contribution to the well-being of communities and to the economic activity in general in the country”.
The Group Promoting the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network is an informal structure coordinated by Turismo de Portugal, which integrates the five ERTs, the Regional Directorate of Tourism of the Azores, the Portuguese Association of Industrial Heritage and the Roteiro das Minas e Pontos de Interesse Mineiro and Geological Survey of Portugal.
To these, Fábrica Vista Alegre and New Hand Lab – Associação Cultural, from Covilhã, as well as the municipalities of São João da Madeira, Santa Maria da Feira and Vale de Cambra (all in the district of Aveiro), Vila Nova de Famalicão (Braga), Marinha Grande (Leiria), Santo Tirso and Vila do Conde (Porto).
The group dedicated to the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network is an informal structure coordinated by Turismo de Portugal and which integrates the five regional tourism entities (ERT), as well as the Regional Directorate of Tourism of the Azores, the Portuguese Association of Industrial Heritage and the Roteiro of Mines and Points of Mining and Geological Interest in Portugal.
To these, Fábrica Vista Alegre and New Hand Lab – Associação Cultural, from Covilhã, as well as the municipalities of São João da Madeira, Santa Maria da Feira and Vale de Cambra (all in the district of Aveiro), Vila Nova de Famalicão (Braga), Marinha Grande (Leiria), Santo Tirso and Vila do Conde (Porto).
According to Teresa Ferreira, coordinator of the Dynamizing Group of the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network, it “has been growing in resources” over the last two years, currently accounting for “216 partners”.
In 2023, the network promoted the 2nd edition of the “Discovering Industrial Tourism” initiative, in addition to being present at national and international events.
“There was a great effort [to] be present at different moments, to consolidate the concept” of industrial tourism, noted Teresa Ferreira, considering that there is still “a long way to go”.
This year, the structure will organize the 3rd edition of the “Discovering Industrial Tourism” initiative, between the 16th and 30th of March.
Furthermore, the group wants to work on boosting international partnerships with France and Italy, promote executive training actions and carry out a survey to characterize the network.
“The challenge is to consolidate, grow and promote this tourism segment,” concluded Teresa Ferreira.
*with Agência Lusa
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