Beaches that offer facilities such as cafés, sun beds and pedalos will have to ensure summer standards if they are to be granted a license to open at other times of the year. The news comes as tourist and environmental authorities urged the region’s beach businesses to guarantee the same quality of vigilance and hygiene out of season that they maintain in the summer.
“Operators of beach facilities, who want to open at Carnival, Easter or other holidays, will have to guarantee the same conditions that visitors enjoy in the summer because the overall image of the Algarve is at stake,” said the president of the Regional Development and Co-operation Commission (CCDRA), Campos Correia.
The subject was debated at a special meeting convened by CCDRA and attended by representatives from the Algarve Tourist Board (RTA), the maritime authorities and the Association of Algarve Municipalities (AMAL). Correia also stressed that the time taken to grant licenses can be longer out of season, explaining: “Technical verification of license requests can take longer than normal because there is greater instability in the currents and waters in the winter.”
