They are maritime-tourist activities, but they are different from the others. The Nautituurs project, which aims to promote experiences that respect local cultural, environmental and gastronomic values, won the Guadiana Lab ideas competition, for the Choose Guadiana project, promoted by the Odiana association, with the support of the municipalities of Alcoutim, Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA), and with funding from the CRESC Algarve2020 Operational Program.
The prize, worth 2500 euros, was awarded in Castro Marim, during the closing session of Choose Guadiana, a project that «was a compilation of different activities in favor of the Guadiana river, the promotion of the river and the training of all the entrepreneurs who , with the river and around the river, they work», said Catarina Cavaco, executive director of Odiana.
The idea presented by the company Nautiparque, one of the five presented in the competition and one of the three that reached the final stage, «captivated the jury, as it is something different from what we are used to here in the territory, as they have nautical activities in line with the entire economy blue and the green economy, with sustainability, bearing in mind climate change. And we need to keep that in mind today in order to have a better future tomorrow», added the same official.
For Cláudio Tenório, from Nautiparque, this award «is a push, a recognition of our ideas, of what we want to do and the way we want to work».
«We want to be a differentiating element in terms of nautical and escape a little from what is already done. For us, it is very interesting to win the prize, because it ends up being the appreciation of our ideas and our way of working », he reinforced.
With Nautitours, the winners of the Guadiana Lab contest propose to encompass «the various realities that we have, always around nautical, with great care with the environmental, cultural, historical part of VRSA and the river and the scientific value around all of this. We also want to include the Mediterranean Diet and make nautical experiences, but inclusive».
«We don't want to do a simple boat trip, a simple rental of a canoe. We want people to enjoy a series of things at the same time: to take the walk, but accompanied by someone who knows the area and who has fundamental knowledge that will allow him to explain to people where they are, what they are seeing, the history of the places . Added to this is a gastronomic component, with tasting of regional products, some of them almost exclusive here in VRSA», added Cláudio Tenório.
The Guadiana Lab ideas competition, which aimed to «stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship and qualification of the business fabric», was one of the many actions carried out over the last few years, within the scope of the Choose Guadiana project, which began in 2018 and involved around 30 companies or entities with activities related to the river.
The project is structured around four main axes of action, which explore the role of the sea and the Guadiana river as: source for training and qualification of SMEs; source of economic activity and business investment; source of innovation for new products and services; and as a destination of choice in the nautical and sports sector.
Participation in the Nautical Show in Barcelona, training activities, visits to a saniculture in Cadiz, to the Alqueva dam and to the High Performance Center in Foz Coa, identification of the six piers on the river between VRSA and Alcoutim, a nautical guide and the Guadiana Weekend were some of the other activities carried out.
In the end, the three dozen adherents – «if it were the beginning today, there would not only be 30, there would certainly be 40 or 50, because of the word of mouth -, made a balance sheet «quite positive». Catarina Cavaco, on the other hand, talks about the objectives achieved and the «good and concrete» results of the project.
«Businessmen are already seeing some of the results of the project reflected in their business, namely through the Guadiana Weekend, which was a weekend in which we promoted activities related to the river, free of charge, but in which word of mouth has already allowed companies were contacted by some of these people, to enjoy these experiences», he added.
Choose Guadiana is a project promoted by Associação Odiana, supported by the Municipalities of Alcoutim, Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, submitted to Notice ALG-53-2018-22 funded by the Operational Program CRESC ALGARVE 2020 (SIAC Qualification – 60%) .
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