The new Secretary of State for Tourism argues that the Algarve should invest «in internationalization», attracting «increasing investment». Pedro Machado was in the region last Friday, April 19th, to participate in the 20th anniversary of the Albufeira Promotion Agency (APAL).
In statements to the Sul Informação, Pedro Machado considered that the Algarve is «one of the premium destinations» in Portugal, both «from the point of view of the internal and external market».
Asked about what his priorities will be for the region, the new Secretary of State for Tourism, from the Democratic Alliance (AD) government, argued that the Algarve has «extraordinary resources to invest in internationalization», and should also «capture more and more investment ».
The big challenge for everyone, he said, is to “qualify the tourist experience” and “diversify the sources and actors that can contribute to continuing” to qualify it.
Regarding whether the Algarve will be at the top of his priorities, Pedro Machado, who was president of the Regional Tourism Entity of Central Portugal from 2013 to 2023, stressed that «all regions» are.
«I am someone who is very connected to one of our regional destinations, but this gives me the advantage of knowing the territory very well. Addressing the priorities, constraints and challenges we have: that's what I want to do, focusing on companies, operations and markets, trying to conquer more and more international markets», he considered.
Furthermore, the Secretary of State for Tourism also took the opportunity to praise the work of APAL, saying that these associations “make a difference in the first place through their connection to the territory”.
«I worked closely with several associations and we realized its importance in reaching micro-entrepreneurs, who are normally away from large associations», he said.
The Albufeira Promotion Agency currently has around 250 members, being, in the words of its president Desidério Silva, the «largest business association» in the municipality.
The leader of APAL took advantage of the presence of the new Secretary of State for Tourism to also ask that attention be given to an Algarve that was «abandoned and forgotten by several Governments», pointing out projects such as the Algarve Central Hospital or the requalification of the EN125.
APAL's 20th anniversary session also featured two panels on the “Tourism Paths”, with the presence of António Jorge Costa, CEO of IPDT Turismo, Carlos Coelho, president of the Ivity Brend Group, Luís Serra Coelho, professor at the University of Algarve, and João Duque, full professor at ISEG.
In his panel, Carlos Coelho argued that the Algarve should stop being seen as «the lover of Summer» to be «the woman of the whole year».
The expert, who spoke about new forms of tourism promotion, said that any region needs to create «tourism with a high impact on people», an opinion corroborated by António Jorge Costa.
Carlos Coelho also spoke about the recent “Strategy for Development, Promotion and Attraction of New Tourists for Albufeira”, outlined by the Institute for Tourism Planning and Development (IPDT), highlighting that the Algarve must choose the “tourists it wants to attract”.
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