Category Archives: Algarve
Summer jobs help Algarve economy
The Algarve actually registered a decrease in the number of people signed up at job centres when compared to the previous months of June and July back in 2012, a sign that even if seasonal, there are a couple more jobs out there.
ASAE targets Algarve rentals
About one third of the Algarve rentals which fall under the ‘local lodging’, or ‘alojamento local’, regime are operating illegally and fail to comply with the minimum standards of hygiene and safety required by law, according to the ASAE, the official body responsible for inspecting these accommodation units.
Bordeira guide
This Bordeira guide has to start with the mention that this is not the same place as Bordeira nr Sao bras Alportel, this is a small village in the western Algarve known for a huge beach with sand dunes which is very popular with surfers.
Burgau guide
We’ve made it a bit of a mission to talk about the lesser known destinations and towns of the Algarve and today we’ll make a quick Burgau guide.
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.
Algarve tourism businesses urged to stay open for the winter
Desiderio Silva – who has been re-elected as the head of the Algarve Tourism Board, and also former mayor of Albufeira – has appealed to all businesses related to the Algarve tourism sector to keep their ‘lights on’ during the winter as well so as to try to maintain the current momentum.
