André Gomes took office as the new head of the Algarve Tourism Region yesterday evening, August 1, at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in a ceremony attended by more than 300 participants, including the minister of environment.

The Algarve Tourism Board (RTA), responsible for promoting the country's main holiday destination in Portugal and Spain, has a new executive committee and André Gomes will lead the team over the next five years.

“I will be firm and determined, before the national public authorities, in the defense of the interests of the region. Firstly, in terms of its financing. I recall that if the budget of the tourism regions had benefited from the due updating of the financial allocation according to the evolution of the consumer price index, today we would be talking about annual financing of the RTA for 2023 in the order of 5.5 million euros”, stated André Gomes in the inauguration speech.

In a ceremony attended by the Minister of the Environment, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Secretary of State for Fisheries, André Gomes also showed his commitment to the fight for the sustainability of the region and in the search for solutions to the lack of water in the south of the country.

“There are very good structural projects already underway, such as the use of treated wastewater, the reinforcement of the multi-municipal system and the commitment to new sources of water. The private sector is also doing its part. But it is necessary to attract more investment from the water sector to mitigate the serious problem of scarcity and allow greater savings in this fundamental resource for life and tourism”, added André Gomes.

Diversification

But the focus of the new executive for the next five years will also be on the diversification of the tourist offer and on the qualification of human resources: “people are the most important element of Tourism”, stressed the new President who will hold office until 2028.

Helder Martins, President of the Board of the General Assembly of the Algarve Tourism Region praised the fact that they were having this event in the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, a place that makes the region richer. "A tourist region like the Algarve without infrastructure like this is weaker", he said.

He also pointed out that occupancy levels in hotels are lower compared to the same period in other years, which, according to him, is due to the increase in interest rates that leaves the Portuguese unable to take a holiday. "With Faro airport having more tourists, what is missing is clearly domestic tourism. The national market and the Spanish market have a lot to do with the increase in interest rates and this makes many Portuguese unable to travel."

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins