Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 16^th June 2021

 

Faro won’t have gathering of motorcycles for the second year in a row.

The famous gathering in Faro, which this year celebrated 40 years of existence, will not take place, as happened last year, due to Covid-19.

Speaking to Algarve Prime, José Amaro, President of the Moto Clube de Faro, confirmed that “there will not be conditions to receive the usual thousands of motorcyclists who, in mid-July, travel to Faro from various parts of Europe and the world”.

Over the next few days, Moto Clube de Faro will announce the cancellation of the gathering by video, as happened in 2020. José Amaro explained that the two biggest obstacles to holding the event are the camps and concerts, so not even the vaccination certificate was used to reverse this decision, due to the impossibility of controlling the entrances and exits of people during the 3 or 4 days of the event.

The decision to cancel was reviewed week by week, but given the worsening situation, and with the question of the British Government, “the holding of the event is completely ruled out”, noted the official. Discarded is also the possibility of carrying out the usual motorbike parade through the streets of Faro.

José Amaro regrets the situation, since the event took place for 38 years without interruptions and now “we are forced to stop. Last year we said it would be 2021 and now we’re going to see if it will be next year. “

Authorities promote sustainable motorhomes in the Algarve Region.

This Monday, June 14, a protocol was signed with a view to promoting responsible ‘motorhomeism’ in the Algarve Region, which provides for the integration of the Algarve Motorhome Service Areas (ASA) into the national Outdoor Routes platform. The agreement also provides for the preparation of a Responsible Motorhome Guide, which gathers all relevant information for motorhome drivers and promotes the best sustainability practices, and a Motorhomeism Dictionary, aimed at defining and standardizing the fundamental concepts of the framework of the activity and the best associated practices.

Together with the Algarve Tourism Region, the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission, the Algarve Intermunicipal Community and the Camping and Mountaineering Federation of Portugal, Turismo de Portugal is committed to identifying new parking and overnight spaces of motorhomes that allow, in accordance with the imperatives of environmental sustainability, a better geographic diversification of such spaces and the growth of the offer network in the territory to welcome motorhome drivers.

Motorhomeism is a segment of the tourist market that is growing rapidly in Portugal and in Europe, closely associated with the growing appreciation by tourists of experiences of proximity to the natural and cultural values ​​of the destinations visited. The growth of this modality of itinerant tourism brings with it obvious advantages, contributing positively to the dynamisation of local economies and to the reduction of seasonality, but it poses real challenges that need to be addressed, highlighted the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques.

In this sense, the Government is developing a program aimed, on the one hand, to respond to the growing demand, through the creation of a sufficient and qualified infrastructure supply network, and, on the other, to the need to combat illegal and unsustainable practices of the activity.

The strategy of resumption of tourist activity conveys a message of confidence to tourists, regarding the fulfilment of demanding health safety requirements and guaranteeing the control of risks resulting from an excessive and disorderly influx and concentration of motorhomes in the usually most sought after areas of the country by this tourist segment, as is the case of the Algarve.

The protocol now established foresees a set of cooperation and articulation actions that make it possible to overcome the constraints related to the modality of motor caravanning in the Algarve, promoting its practice in an increasingly sustainable way towards territories, the environment and tourists.