Eco-Project To Give Boost to Lagos Tourism
One of the most famous landmarks and visited tourist attractions in the Algarve, Ponta de Piedade, is finally being given the recognition it deserves. Its golden cliffs, towering rock formations and romantic caves and grottos are being re-qualified as an area of conservation in a project led by the Câmera Municipal do Lagos along with the APA. (Portuguese Environment Agency).
Tomorrow Magazine met with the mayor of Lagos to find out more about this ambitious project, which as well as preserving an area of outstanding natural beauty is part of an initiative to promote sustainable tourism in the Algarve.
The project is being heralded by Lagos Câmera as being an ecotourism project, backed by Europe funding. Ecotourism is a term we are hearing more and more. Is it just trendy jargon or does it have a deeper significance for the area?
Ecotourism sets out to unite conservation, communities and sustainable travel by minimising physical, social, behavioural and psychological impacts. So what does this mean? I contact André Botequilha-Leitão, assistant professor in Land Use Planning at the University of the Algarve, to discover more about this subject. André teaches in the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences. Ecotourism is one of the activities he is particularly interested in as tourism is 60% of GDP in the Algarve. He explains; “The model of the ´60s ´70s and ´80s is not so good for the Algarve because of the mass concentration of activity along the coast, for only 4 months a year and solely focused on the sun and beach product.”
André has written many papers arguing that alternative activities which attract tourists to the Algarve should be focused on including cultural events, sports training and nature tourism. He argues; “In Portugal, concerns have been raised since the 1990´s about the mass tourism product which has brought many gains to entrepreneurs, constructors and some politicians. From my perspective, it is not the quality tourism that is beneficial for the region as a whole and for the population and jobs. If economic activity concentrates on only 4 months then lots of jobs are dependent on a small part of the year and there is a huge imbalance which affects the quality of life of the population. We need Ecological initiatives that attract visitors to the interior.”
Frank McClintock runs a boutique Hotel located on the Barragem and brands himself as “Paradise-in-Portugal”. He is an eloquent spokesman for ecotourism. “People are becoming more aware of the environment, especially due to negative publicity caused by Donald Trump´s policies and the Conservative Government's failure to stand up for the environment. I think this is having the reverse effect of making people more aware of how important the environmental issues are and what we have to lose. Our grandchildren will have to clear up the mess we make.”
He has reaped the benefits from diversifying into nature tourism running bird trips for his guests, which has seen him gain 80% occupancy throughout April and May, traditionally harder weeks to fill. “April and May they have been full solely due to nature tourism. Bringing people into the Algarve for nature activities, extends the season and doubles tourism dollars. Portugal has fantastic all year round light, a beautiful environment and a government that really cares. In those two months, I was booked for 50 day-long bird watching trips seeing very rare birds that guests come to Portugal to see.”
Despite success stories like this many properties and farmland in the interior are being abandoned because of economic activity on the coast and the villages are being depopulated. As a land use planner, André is looking at the large rural areas like Monchique to the North of the A22; “These should be looked at as an asset rather than a constraint to development which has been the traditional stance of politicians. If we keep the rural activities these areas will then become a magnet for a new type of tourist.”
The first phase of Lagos´s new ecotourism project, which will cost €193,000, is being co-financed by the Cascade Resort, who have no doubt recognised the commercial benefits to be gained from bringing an “alternative” type of guest to enjoy its beautiful environs. The work will focus on creating paths and cycling tracks and reducing the indiscriminate trampling, that contributes to erosion.
There will be pedestrian routes running along the cliffs and larger ones for cycling. In two locations wooden gazebos and raised wooden paths will create an attractive route for ramblers. These areas will also have an overshadowing structure, as well as handrails like those that are now prolific in the Costa Vicentina National Park. Each of these gazebos would have information panels about culture, history and the nature of the area with wooden seats to enjoy the views.
It was scheduled to start by the end of May 2017, but reports suggest the work has yet to begin.
Lagos could learn a lesson from the Faro Camera, its Rio Formosa is a protected area and has been classified as a Natural Park since 1987. Barbara Abelho works for Formosama which organises ecotourism activities in the Park. The company specialises in organising tours such as walking, kayaking, cycling and boat trips to experience the natural environment and attempt to make clients sensitive to environmental issues. They try to promote the area for tourism and have attended National and International Fairs to promote their activities
She says: “The Algarve is trying to make an effort to try to promote these activities as the weather means they can operate all year round. The people interested in these excursions will visit off season, this is important to promote sustainable development and we try to keep 20 people employed throughout the year.”
“When we started we had fewer visitors in the winter but The Tourist Board has done well to get more year-round flight routes which are bringing in more guests and we are slowly getting the message out there that The Algarve is of interest to nature tourists.”
The second phase of the project In Lagos is to create a visitor's centre which will pay tribute to the Portuguese poet and writer Sophia de Mello Breyner, who spent a lot of time reading and contemplating the Ponta da Piedade landscape, which inspired her work.
The centre will share the name of the poet, who published several poetry books and anthologies. In 1999 she became the first woman to receive the highest Portuguese award for poetry, the Prémio Camões. She also wrote a number of stories and children's books. A recurrent theme of her poems was the sea which is why it is fitting her memory is honoured at this site.
The goal of this phase will be implementing a number of activities such as cycling and walking tours, educational visits for local schools and to promote the conservation of this important area. It is hoped that the improvement of the pathways, comfort, security and information for the tourists will increase visitor numbers and create an attraction for tourists to visit out of the main holiday seasons. If successful this will help reduce the effects of seasonality so that both the local economy and employment can be more stable.
The total cost of the project is being cited at €2,492,676, 60% of which is supported by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund). Although I tried to extract more information about the exact details of the centre from the meeting with the mayor, I felt that beyond wanting to pay tribute to the Portuguese writer, the plans are not yet laid in stone and more details will probably be released when phase two comes to fruition. Even in the Portuguese newspapers, the approach of the subject was superficial. So it remains to be seen if this centre will succeed in being a tourist magnet as hoped.
I wonder if this project is going to make a difference. André concludes; “Initiatives like this which show to the local people engaged in tourism that there are alternatives to mass tourism which respect the local culture. This is very positive.”
“Not everyone wants Slide and Splash;” says Frank, “This may be a small drop in the ocean but the scheme will be excellent if done well. The more people you can get interested in nature the better. Nature tourism appeals to older people which is good for tourism as they have more disposable income and visit out of season.”
If we see an increased interest in this type of tourism, other issues will arise, there will be a need for more people trained with a knowledge of the environment to educate visitors and more money will need to be invested in the neglected rural area. With the political situations in other tourist areas driving more people to Portugal surely, this is now the Algarve´s big chance to grab this new USP and create a sustainable environmentally aware tourism industry that can keep people in work 12 months a year.
In Sophia de Mello Breyner words “Poetry, is my understanding of the universe, my way of relating to things, my participation, in reality, my encounter with voices and images.” It is, therefore, fitting that 13 years after her death, Sofia´s legacy should be to encourage new visitors to come and enjoy the landscape she loved.
Published July 2017
Paradise-in-portugal.com
Formosamar.com
André Botequilha-Leitão, PhD, MSc, Dipl. Eng.
Assistant (Auxiliar) Professor, Land Use Planning (Ordenamento do
Território)
Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Sciences and Technology
Http://sites.google.com/site/abotequilhaleitao/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andre_Botequilha-Leitao
