Faro aims to focus on health and wellness tourism
We’re keenly aware of the Algarve’s aim to broaden its appeal to a wider range of tourists, mainly focusing on marketing itself in its off-season as well, but Faro appears to be going in a different direction, namely the health and wellness tourism sector.
Mayor Rogerio Bacalhau was addressing a conference of the Portuguese Association of Hospital Hospitality – APHH – when he said that Faro is one of the municipalities which has the best grounds to make itself a destination in the tourism sector of health and wellness.
This statement was then backed up when he started naming several infrastructures that could attract investors namely: the Faro Airport, the regional hospital centre, the municipality’s array of sports establishments, the university’s Medicine courses, as well the city which is rich in historic heritage.
He also wanted to highlight the soon-to be inaugurated Parque Ribeirinho, which aims to redefine the city’s connection to its Ria Formosa estuary, as well as the city’s range of theatres, cinemas, commerce, beauty shops, rural parishes and countryside areas.
All of these are quite important to putting Faro on the map of health and wellness tourism. The Mayor stressed that the city has to work towards presenting itself as an attractive possibility for investors in this and other related areas.
He continued to say that town hall will have to do everything in its power to reduce bureaucracy and attract potential investors so the authorities are ready to offer information and support concerning financial incentives and licensing, and then to make sure that each project that starts in Faro is then supported by simple and non-bureaucratic administrative services.
The health and wellness tourism sector is thought to be one of the more promising touristic activities in Portugal, which might help with the overall goal of increasing the region’s atractivity. The government has declared it ‘a strategic sector’ but the sector only accounts for 1.9% of total revenue, so there is definitely space to grow.
