The Algarve is seeking to woo Spanish travellers to the region by showcasing its delicious food and wines, sprawling hiking routes and creative tourism projects at this year’s edition of Madrid’s International Tourism Fair (FITUR).
The event, which started on Wednesday and runs until Sunday (January 19-23), is considered one of the largest tourism events in the world. This year’s fair has attracted over 7,000 companies and entities from 107 countries.
The Algarve’s famous trails – Ecovia do Litoral/Eurovelo 1, Rota Vicentina, Via Algarviana and Grande Rota do Guadiana – will be one of the main calling cards promoted, as well as the region’s creative tourism projects such as Loulé Criativo, TASA, Algarve Cooking Vacations and the latest addition to the list, Algarve Craft & Food. All these projects allow visitors to learn more about the region’s traditions, culture and heritage.
The region’s traditional food and its increasingly popular wine, as well as the region’s year-long sunshine and unmatched beaches, will also be showcased.
Algarve tourism chief João Fernandes says that it is “especially important” to attend FITUR this year considering the current epidemiological situation and the crisis that affected tourism in 2020.
“In 2021, we already registered a lower decrease than in 2020: the fall in revenue was about 40% compared to 2019, when in 2020 the decrease had been more than 60%. Despite this slight recovery and our expectation that the sector will continue to grow in 2022 in the region, this increase will still be to numbers that were lower than in pre-pandemic years,” said the tourism boss.
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