New contracts have been signed by Turismo de Portugal in a bid to see more tourist all-year-round and they expect that this will result in an extra 20,000 tourists touching down at the Faro Airport this year.

All of these new flight towards faro will be originating from four markets that are now considered a priority by the Turismo de Portugal because they have a great potential o generating more tourists in the short-term, namely Germany, Scandinavia, Ireland and Poland. This has come at the cost of 400,000 euros which the government has invested into increasing the number of air flight routes to Faro Airport.

According to the Secretary of State for Tourism, the Algarve has to focus on receiving more winter tourists by cultivating and growing ties with airline companies and tour operators, rather than trying to attract new visitors by organizing events like concerts or parties. A representative from Turismo de Portugal has also added that this is the first time that a plan of ‘these dimensions’ has been put into practice.

Now for some Algarve related tourism numbers in order to put some things into perspective: the region sees 14.3 million annual overnight stays, with 10.9 million of these being booked by foreign visitors. In 2012, almost a half – 47% – of overnight stays took place over the summer season.

With those numbers in mind, we’ve been talking quite a bit lately about the fact that overall business is down, and has been down for the past couple of years, however the government has been taking steps to increase the number of tourists.

In 2013, during the first three months of the year for instance, the number of foreign tourists visiting the region increased by 14.5%, and that’s a pretty decent number.

We’ll just have to wait and see if and which result this new approach will have on the future of the region’s tourism.

We tout the idea of visiting the Algarve during the winter a lot on this website because of the reduced prices, considerably smaller crowds and milder temperatures however we’ve also talked about how the tough economic times are battering the area, and today is going to be one of the latter types of articles.

Almost half of the Algarve hotels associated with the AHP have decided to suspend their activities during the low season, for at least three months – 48% to be exact.

AHP representatives have admitted that this move is going to be bad for the region as a whole and that there is definitely a seasonality trend taking place in the Algarve, which a few years back wasn’t that prevalent. On the other hand it is a clear sign that there just aren’t enough customers for all of these hotels to continue operating through the winter season.

This seasonality phenomenon is having some effects in other regions of the country as well, not only the tourist-heavy Algarve. For instance in the Alentejo region – which is just North of the Algarve – fourteen percent of their hotels shut down during the winter, while none of them did so in 2011.

This issue isn’t the only one hitting the hotel industry in the region, with a sharp drop in prices being yet another critical matter to consider.

Between January and September of 2012, the average price of a hotel room was of 40.48 Euros, while the occupancy level overall averaged at 59.39 percent.

The capital, Lisbon, stood out by far with the biggest of price drops with the average room price dropping in September by 15.77 percent.

Well while in the summer its high temperatures and warm waters definitely attract the most of its visitors, one should also be aware that during the winter season, while most of Europe is encased in rain, snow or ice, or all of them, the Algarve is still wonderfully sunny.

In fact for quite a few potential visitors the winter season is by far the best time to see what the Algarve has to offer thanks to several reasons, not least of which being the considerably lower prices than those that you’d find during the summer peak season.

Golfers enjoy the Algarve already, thanks to its large number of top-notch golf courses, the place is that much better during the winter season because the weather is great during the daylight hours to spend on a course. This wouldn’t be possible in the summer season except for those very accustomed to those types of temperatures.

Winter in the Algarve is great for those who don’t like visiting crowded places, because usually the region is quite crowded, however in the off-season the number of tourists is almost negligible, which makes for a much quieter and easier time, getting access to attractions and the like.

Despite it being winter though, the water might actually be acceptable to those who love a chilly dip, however you can totally be lucky enough to get some sunny days which will actually allow you to lounge on the beach for a bit of a tan, it can happen.

Whether you’re choosing this period to explore a new location, or whether you want to see how places like Albufeira, Carvoeiro or Vilamoura are during the winter, keep our Algarve car rental services in mind while on your winter Algarve holiday.

Actually the months of September and October are some of the best months to visit the Algarve – because during these months the average temperatures tend to hover around the mid to high 20’s, in the shade, so it will still be hot by pretty much most standards.

Yeah, there might be the odd shower now and again, on one of the few overcast days, but that is still nothing compared to the weather in the more northern parts of Europe, especially the British Isles.

But even in the case of rain, it won’t last nearly as long as it would in other parts of the continent, and usually after the rain the sun will come right up and make it possible to go out in a t-shirt and shorts, so you can still enjoy your day without that much of a hindrance.

One major advantage of visiting the region in these months is that the beaches will be considerably less crowded, and pretty much all of their attractions and activities will still be available, if anything the sometimes higher winds will make it even better for those who enjoy surfing, kite-surfing or wind-surfing.

On the other hand those who are more interested in exploring the Algarve will find it so much more pleasant to walk in the weather during these months. The much less hotter weather makes going on a castle tour of the Algarve with the help of some Algarve car hire services that much easier to undertake, because the very hot weather of the summer can be quite a problem for visitors from normally cooler countries.

Portugal’s Algarve region is quite possibly Europe’s most popular vacation destination. Due to its location on the southernmost region of the country and indeed of the Iberian peninsula, the Algarve benefits from some spectacular weather all year round. When you couple that fact with the almost two hundred kilometers of beach it shouldn’t come as a surprise why this region of Europe is so popular with tourists.

The Algarve, place for sun, sea and golf

Algarve Golf Club

Now those characteristics would be quite enough for the region as a tourist magnet but the Algarve offers so much more than just great weather and beaches, the region has great resorts, great food, unique culture and not least the best golf courses in Europe.

The popularity of golf has increased considerably in the past decade with more and more people, of all ages, becoming fans and enthusiasts of this originally Scottish sport.

All of these golf enthusiasts will be glad to find out that the Algarve is in fact home to well over thirty world-class championship golf courses all of which are situated within short one to two hour drives from any of the main resorts or cities in the region.

One of the many great things about golfing in the Algarve is the fact that the facilities here have been around for quite a while and they’ve been attracting a constant stream of players ever since so they are very well maintained and the services that they provide are top notch.

Another great thing related to Algarve golfing is also one of the main characteristics of the region as a whole, its wonderful weather. As stated earlier the weather itself would have been enough of a pull for visitors from the chillier areas of the continent but when you couple that great weather with the opportunity to play eighteen holes on a top tier course during the winter season it’s simple to understand why this is such a popular attraction to the region.

Enthusiasm for the sport, any sport, brings with it a certain amount of investment, be it financial or emotional, in the case of most games or sports it is both and golf is no exception; however when it comes to golf the financial investment can be a rather serious one when you’re talking about top notch, state of the art clubs. While these are designed to hit a golf ball with as much power and precision as possible they themselves are not designed to withstand hits, so transporting golf clubs can always turn into a problem.

The problem can be two-fold, one is related to the extra cost that one would have to incur in order to carry their clubs with them and the other being that there is no way of guaranteeing absolutely that they won’t get damaged or worse, stolen, during the trip, so this is a thing that many golfing enthusiasts have to deal with when they consider visiting the Algarve particularly for the golfing opportunities.

Thankfully since golfing is so popular in the area, adjacent industries have sprung up around it offering various services to golfing enthusiasts, services such as golf club hire services which will allow the golfer to get the best of both worlds, he or she will be able to play golf in this stunning environment and not fret about their prized golf clubs, everybody wins.

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