World Tourism Day in the Algarve
This year on the World Tourism Day – which was on the 27th of September – was dedicated to water and how to use it efficiently in the tourism industry, in order to protect our future.
With the Algarve Toruism Board – RTA – being aware how much the local economy relies on this incredibly precious natural resource, called on all businesses in the tourism sector to step up to the challenge and implement good practices meant to improve their environmental performance.
The president of the RTA, Desiderio Silva, said that the promotion of correct water use within the tourism industry is crucial to protecting the hydric resources of the region, and this is a place where all tourism-related businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, golf courses and boating companies, have an important role to play.
He did acknowledge that the businesses are now more conscious of the importance of conserving and protecting the region’s natural resources, he did continue to say that more can be done to improve the existing situation.
Seven golf courses and fifteen Algarve organizations have the ISO 14001 certificate which is obtained for the implementation of good environmental management systems.
When it comes down to the beaches, the region can report various degrees of excellence, the region boasting 69 Blue Flags and 83 ‘gold quality’ beaches awarded by the Portuguese environmental association Quercus. These top accolades have helped to solidify the Algarve as a top tourism destination for millions of people from around the globe.
When talking about the World Tourism Day, Desiderio continued to say that the Algarve is a ‘water destination’.
Next year will see the Algarve Toruism Board focusing on promoting the region to its traditional markets but will also reinforce the air routes from four ‘priority markets’ in line with the official government ‘Plan to Combat Seasonality in the Algarve’.
