Category Archives: Algarve
Loule carnival is set to kick off
The Loule carnival – about which we talked a while back – is ready to start tomorrow on the 9th of February and fill the entire municipality with fun and entertainment.
This year’s Loule carnival will be socio-politically themed, “Troikered – The big circus” is its theme and the main Jose da Costa Mealha avenue will be the main staging ground for the floats and fun.
Albufeira increases beach season duration
It appears that Albufeira increases beach season duration in their try to minimize the effects of seasonality.
We tend to talk quite a bit about the idea of seasonality on this blog, and in relation to it about the various hardships that the region of the Algarve has been going through in the past couple of years. Economic downturns influence pretty much any industry, with some being more affected than others, and it is a widely known fact that tourism is one of the industries that gets hit the worst.
Algarve golf region takes UK magazine top award
Today’s Golfer – the UK golfing magazine – has yet again named the Algarve golf region as being the number one value-for-money European golfing destination and truthfully speaking now this should not come as a surprise to no one.
This is the second time running that the Algarve golf region gets the top spot, ahead of Turkey and Murcia, getting forty-three percent of the votes. On the whole the Algarve was also the one to get the most awards – six in total.
Suggested VAT rise for wine and culture may happen
We haven’t reported very much on the start-of-year financial news coming from the Algarve, but it’s about time to do so because today we’ll be talking about another potential VAT rise that will surely affect tourism to the region and that people need to be aware of.
It appears to tat the International Monetary Fund – IMF – sees some untapped financial potential for the Portuguese government to increase the VAT on goods and services like wine, processed foods and cultural events thus further widening the tax base. The current VAT for these is set at 13% and the IMF suggests that it can go up to 23%.
This assessment is part of the IMF country report which is part of the sixth evaluation of Portugal’s bailout programme.
Lagos to celebrate 440 years since city status
Lagos will be very soon commemorating 440 years since gaining its city status, time in which the Town Hall is organizing a bunch of activities including a tourist seminar, a guided tour and a book launch next week.
According to a statement released by the Lagos Town hall, the elevation of Lagos to city status is considered one of the most significant moments in local history because it was a clear recognition of the importance that the port town garnered.
Loule Carnival theme for 2013 announced
The Loule Carnival is by far amongst the biggest events across the Algarve, it is definitely the biggest in Loule and the oldest in the region. It usually takes place in February over the course of three days – the third day being Shrove Tuesday and it’s a wonderfully colorful and noisy affair with music, dancing and all-around revelry.
It is reminiscent to a certain extend with the much more famous Brasilian carnivals, with people from all over the region coming to Loule to watch the procession and join in with the festivities in the center streets. In fact the city centre is closed off for the duration of the festivities, entrance to the area costing a few Euros.
