Foreign tourists feel very safe in the Algarve. This is the principal conclusion to come out of a study published last week during the III Jornadas de Segurança, organised by the PSP. A questionnaire, carried out by the Higher School of Hotel Management and Tourism of the University of the Algarve, was given to 1262 foreign tourists coming from their home countries, in Faro Airport, between 7th July and 14th October.

More than 96 per cent (%) of those questioned considered the Algarve to be a region equally or safer than where they live, and practically the same number of tourists declared that they had not had any problems during their stay in the region.
"It is satisfying to look at these results, gratifying for all of us, but especially for the Algarvians", emphasised the Minister of Internal Administration, António Costa, present at the publication of the preliminary figures from the study, on Friday.

According to the Minister, the positive evaluation given by the foreign tourists for safety in the region is a "prize" for the work carried out between the various police forces. "It is good to know that the levels of safety felt amongst the tourists are pretty high", he said, asking that an annual evaluation continues.
In comparison with other tourist destinations visited (the major part of them situated in Europe - 79.2%), 65.2% feel that the Algarvian region is as safe as the last place chosen for their holidays and 32.8% felt that the Algarvian destination is even safer.

In the study, the majority of the tourists revealed that they had no fear with regard to going out at night or frequenting public places during the day "as being dangerous". The majority consider the Portuguese to be "friendly and hospitable", feeling confident in having recourse to the police.
In the question "I feel at risk on the roads", on a scale of 1 ("Disagree Completely") to 4 ("Agree Completely"), the average obtained was of 1.81, with 24% of the foreign tourists agreeing with the idea.
The question which most divided the people questioned was the presence of "armed police". 64% of them agreed that it makes them feel safe, and 25% disagreed. By countries, the British and Irish felt the most confident with armed police, with disagreement on the part, by a higher number, of the German and Dutch.

Helder Martins, President of the Algarve Regional Tourist Board, reacted with "satisfaction" to these findings. "The perception of the feeling of safety is high. The Algarve as a tourist destination for family holidays is connotated with a hospitable and safe region, where they can go out at night and are free to enjoy to the full, he added.

Regarding the profile of the tourists questioned, they were 44 years of age and staying for 11 days, as part of a group of three people. 58% have higher education and 36% were in the region for the first time. Regarding repeat visitors, they had returned 7.4 times, on average, in the last five years.

From the 1262 interviewd by eight people, 279 originated from the United Kingdom, 248 from Germany, 310 from Ireland, 199 from Holland and 226 from other countries.

source: regiao sul