FCO crime warning
Britain’s Foreign Office raised its alert level for tourists visiting Portugal after a spate of crimes across the Algarve over the summer.
Among the types of crime cited in the warning for the 2.2 million British visitors to Portugal each year, posted on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, were murder, theft, burglary and sexual abuse.
Tourists were advised to take special care when visiting the capital Lisbon and the Algarve.
“Various British citizens have fallen victim to serious sexual offences in the Algarve this summer,” it warned.
According to the Commonwealth and Foreign Office warning, crime remains “comparatively low in Portugal but pick-pocketing, handbag snatching and theft from cars are increasingly common in major tourist areas”.
Another year of success at BLiP
afpop exhibition Better Living in Portugal (BLiP), which took place at Portimão’s ExpoArade on September 26 and 27, was hailed a great success.
With many products and services available, the event proved popular despite the economic downturn.
Several thousand visitors attended the fair, which celebrated its ninth year.
Preparations for BLiP 2010 have already started and interested parties should contact organisers Exiberia as soon as possible.
For more information about BLiP, please visit the website, available in English at www.blip-exhibitions.com.
Foreign residents say ‘no’ to new aerodrome
A project for a new aerodrome in Portimão council around two kilometres south of the Algarve Motor Park was being studied in 2009.
A map, which was obtained by a local resident at Portimão council in September, showed a proposed plan for a new airport just south of the Algarve Motor Park, with a flight path over the Monte Canelas residential area.
Local resident David Broad told the Algarve Resident: “A new airport in Portimão is not required. It is a waste of tax payers’ money and one more needless attack on the environment.”
A spokesman for Portimão Câmara told the Algarve Resident that although a study was underway and the impacts were being looked at, there was no foreseen date for the possible construction of the facility.
