The government, in a partnership with the Portuguese Tourism Institute, last Friday announced the creation of a new brand which symbolises the new investment programme for the south of the country, ‘Allgarve’. At the opening of the Algarve Tourism Fair, which took place last weekend at the Parque das Nações in Lisbon, the Minister of the Economy and Tourism, Manuel Pinho, inaugurated the public presentation of the new brand following the announcement of an investment of 6 million euros for the Algarve region.

With the motto, ‘Experiências que marcam’ (Experiences which leave an impression), the brand ‘Allgarve’ is, according to Manuel Pinho, the name of a programme which aims to become established and which will be repeated in terms of investments for at least three more years.

João Brás Frade, of Mybrand, the company that created the concept, said that the brand would be the showcase for a modern attractive and sophisticated Portugal, and that they would be aiming to change consumers’ perceptions.

3 million for entertainment

The government is to invest 3 million euros in cultural and sporting entertainment in the Algarve given that, according to the Secretary of State for Tourism Bernardo Trindade, one of the areas to be improved is the lack of “glamour” entertainment.

However, Helder Martins, president of the RTA, the Algarve Tourism Board, told the Algarve Observer that half of this amount is intended for “promoting” the initiatives.

The events include cultural and leisure activities such as concerts, fashion shows and sporting competitions like the Breitling MedCup, a sailing regatta which includes the participation of King Juan Carlos of Spain. Partnerships have already been announced with the Serralves Foundation and with the Coimbra Centro de Artes e Animação, for holding exhibitions in the region.

8 points for improving the south of the country

For the Minister of the Economy, tourism is at the highest level ever, but the ambition has to go beyond this; he said they wanted more tourists who come for a short time, holiday tourists and more foreigners who come to Portugal as a second residence.

Based on the values of “creativity and diversity” the brand ‘Allgarve’ is intended to contribute to the improvement of eight points which, according to Manuel Pinho, are the priorities: in addition to improving the national brand and stimulating training in the hotel business, the programme aims to increase the range of quality services on offer, make tourism and the environment compatible with each other, increase the number of low-cost airlines flying to Faro, invest in new regions such as the west Alentejo and give tax benefits to the second homes of foreigners.

source: algarve observer