Strategic vision for tourism

Minister for Tourism, Telmo Correia, has stressed the need for a “strategic vision for the Algarve” and recognised that the country’s major tourist attraction is experiencing difficulties. The minister was in Faro to meet with various associations and to celebrate the opening of the office of the Secretary of State for Tourism in the Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo do Algarve. Correia said that he recognised “worrying signs” in the Algarve’s tourist sector, but that there was not yet a crisis in the region. “Tourism is a fundamental sector for Portugal and is an economic motor for the country,” he commented, pointing to the need for training and qualifications in the sector. He went on to confirm his commitment to put together a strategy for “reversing the negative tendency”.