Tourists and locals have been visiting the Algarve’s monuments in increasing number as the region’s Culture Directorate announces a 17% rise so far this year.
The monuments under the care of the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve are the Sagres Fortress, Ermida de Guadalupe in Raposeira, Vila do Bispo, the Megalithic monuments of Alcalar, Portimão and the Roman ruins of Milreu in Estoi, Faro.
In the first half of this year, 197,142 visitors have taken the time to get some culture in addition to the Algarve’s traditional offerings. This compares to 168,033 to the end of June last year.
"The influx of visitors to our monuments is not across the board when compared to the previous year," says the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve.
In some of the sites, "the trend has been maintained or slightly reduced compared to last year's figures, but once again it was in the Fortaleza de Sagres where we saw the most significant growth," add the Directorate.
What remains the same is the split between locals and visitors. Foreigners make up 88% of the grouping, versus 12% of nationals.
This split was not in evidence at the Megalithic monuments of Alcalar where the number of nationals was 55% of the total.