Travel agents will be “crucial” in promoting areas of the Algarve away from those most popular, according to its tourism chief.
Andre Gomes, president of the Algarve Tourism Board, said the destination is working on promoting “off the beaten track” locations away from the coast that are not as well-visited by Brits.
“The Algarve is much more than just sun and beach,” said Gomes, speaking to Travel Weekly at World Travel Market 2023.
“We have rich nature tourism, incredible gastronomy, wines and unique culture. The region offers so many different kinds of experiences and there is always something new to discover, even for those who have visited every year for the past 30 years.
“It’s one of our objectives to promote that, and travel agents and tour operators will be crucial in helping us achieve it.”
The Algarve’s tourism revenue is 28% above 2019 and 11% above 2022 while Faro airport – the only airport in the Algarve – has welcomed 19% more arrivals this year than in 2022.
Gomes is hopeful the region can surpass these figures in 2024 by not only widening its tourism offering but by welcoming more tourists in the shoulder seasons.
“We are very confident we can build on this year’s recovery in 2024 and make it even better than 2019, which was considered our best-ever year for tourism,” he added.
“This year has showed us that we are growing outside of the high season. From January until May this year we saw considerable growth on occupancy and guests and that’s very good for us because we’ve worked hard on making the Algarve a year-round destination.”
Sustainability will be key to the region’s tourism strategy, stressed Gomes.
“If we don’t have a sustainable territory and a sustainable offering, we don’t have a product to promote,” he added. “It’s fundamental to everything we do.”