From June 6, 2018, the Algarve will have a direct air route to Verona, Italy, operated by Volotea, a first between the two airports, heralded as a "strategic action," according to the Algarve Tourism Association.
There has been a "trend of growth of tourism from the Italian market in the Algarve region, both in terms of holidaymakers and in residential tourism," said the association.
This new route will be weekly, from June to September, a total of 5,400 seats and is the only direct flight between Faro and Italy.
"Italy is a market that has presented interesting growth figures in recent years - in 2016 there were close to 108,000 overnight stays by Italian tourists in the Algarve - so we consider it of strategic relevance for the region" explains Dora Coelho, Executive Director of ATA, the agency responsible for promoting the region's tourism to foreign markets and one of the entities that has helped set up the route.
Following the British, the Nordic countries and the French, "there has been a significant increase in the number of Italian tourists who are choosing the Algarve as a destination for residential tourism, settling in the region to live for part of the year" says Coelho, adding that "The creation of a direct air link to the Algarve will certainly have an influence on the growth of this trend."
The Italian market was important in the '90s, during which time the Algarve received around 20,000 passengers per year from Italy. However, this operation was interrupted, so the announcement of this new route represents, "a stimulating challenge for the region in the reconquest of this market."
According to the Spanish low-cost airline, Volotea, the Algarve is a destination of "great fascination and tourist appeal", which is why its investment is justified.
History
Volotea was established by Alaeo S.L. from Barcelona, a company created by former Vueling founders, Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros. The name "Volotea" originates from the Spanish verb "revolotear," meaning "to fly around." It commenced operations on 5 April 2012, from Venice Marco Polo Airport.
The company is backed by three private-equity funds, two of them from Europe (Axis Participaciones Empresariales and Corpfin Capital) and a third from the United States (CCMP Capital), whose chairman, Greg Brenneman, was one-time President and COO of America's Continental Airlines and who also chairs Volotea's board. The company raised over €50m before operations began.
Boeing announced on 15 February 2012 that it had signed a long-term lease deal with Volotea for an undisclosed number of its 717 aircraft.[ In March 2015, it was announced that Volotea will receive a further four 717s from Blue1. However, in November 2015, Volotea announced plans to phase out their 717 fleet over the next few years and replace it with Airbus A320 family aircraft.
Verona
Verona is a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region, with a medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River.
It’s famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet." A 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be “Juliet’s House." (See picture above).
The Verona Arena is a huge 1st-century Roman amphitheatre, which currently hosts concerts and large-scale opera performances.