Tag Archives: portugal
How tourists are starting to explore Portugal
The way in which tourists approach visiting the country on the whole directly affects how they will approach visiting the Algarve, and it appears that the trend is going towards tourists traveling solo and staying with friends.
Algarve A22 motorway revenue is up
We have been talking constantly about the Algarve A22 tolls and how they are not popular with neither locals, nor with visitors. But despite all the protests and unpleasantness related to the tolls it appears that the takings from the country’s toll roads overall are up, the ones from the A22 motorway being among the top revenue earners.
Despite the economic crisis, revenue from the motorways is up, according to the national road company Estradas de Portugal – EP, with former virtual or SCUT toll roads reporting the biggest increases.
Interestingly enough the motorways in the Greater Lisbon Area and in the northern part of the country saw their receipts dropping during the first half of the year, the south being obviously the most traveled through part of the country.
EP highlighted the strong performance of the Algarve A22 motorway, saying that it saw a rise of 22 percent in its income, which amounts to about a 1.6 million euro increase when compared to the same period of 2012. The statement went further in saying that the peak summer period wasn’t taken into consideration when this study was made and since that is by far the peak traffic time for the Algarve, the numbers might actually be higher.
It’s an interesting time for these numbers to be coming out because there have only been two months since EP chief Antonio Ramalho expressed real concerns over the sustainability of SCUT motorways. This is due to the fact that vehicles without an electronic tagging device which use the SCUT motorways, cost as much to bill as the amount they pay in order to use the road.
Despite these positive numbers Mr. Romalho argued that the current system is unsustainable and it won’t be capable in the long term to maintain and preserve the road network.
We do know that a new toll system is in the works for the A22, we have to wait and see how these things will evolve in the future.
New toll system in the works
The National Road Authority of Portugal is working on a new system of tolls for the formerly free SCUT roads – the A22 motorway is amongst these – because the current tolling scheme has been labeled as ‘ineffective’ and ‘unsustainable’.
Trans-Guadiana protocol gives new hopes to ‘Eurocity’ region
Even though it seems that only bleak news is coming out of the Algarve, today we’re talking about the Trans-Guadiana protocol, which has been signed between the various traders in cities that line the Guadiana River – which separates Portugal’s Algarve region from Spain’s Andalucia region – which has been the source of some positive feelings amongst business owners on both sides of the river.
Albufeira guide
The town of Albufeira is one of the Algarve’s most well known resort towns. Like many other destinations in this sun drenched and sea kissed part of the coast, Albufeira started its life as nothing more but a small fishing village, only developing into a major tourist destination relatively recently.
Many holidaymakers return to Albufeira city Portugal when they’re looking for a specific type of atmosphere which mixes great climate, lovely beaches and a plethora of eating establishments.
Vila Real de Santo Antonio guide
Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal is located on the Guadiana River which is the natural border between Portugal and Spain. From the extreme eastern part of Vila Real one can plainly see the Spanish coastline as well as the river that connects to Ayamonte in Spain.
Those who will be heading here will notice how easy it is to get around the town thanks to it having been built on a grid system, which is something that not many other Algarve settlements can boast. With the help of our small Vila Real de Santo Antonio guide you should get a better idea of what it is that the town can offer you and whether or not you should seriously consider vacationing here.
The town’s grid system was designed by the Marques de Pombal who was rather keen on testing this new type of town planning after all the original settlements in the area were eroded by the beginning of the 17th century. The Royal charter founding the town was signed on the 30th of December 1773 and by August 6th of next year, the Town Hall, Customs House and the barracks were already completed.
