Praia da Rocha, Três Castelos, Vau, Alvor Nascente - Três Irmãos and Alvor Poente, as well as Marina de Portimão give the struggling municipality of Portimão every chance of a good summer as all of the council's beaches have gained coveted Blue Flag status.
The beaches have satisfied stringent criteria including information and environmental education, water quality, environmental management and equipment, as well as security and allied services.
Blue Flags can thus be raised at all the beaches with the main objective of the award being to raise the level of awareness of the necessity of protecting the marine and coastal environment, as well as to encourage swift actions to resolve any problems detected, such as a decline in water quality as seen last year in Albufeira when a sewage pumping station started to discharge raw effluent into the sea.
Portimão council faces debts of €160 million with an application for financial help from the government seemingly tied up in red tape and yet to be released. Meanwhile there are real concerns from mayor Isilda Gomes that council's current income may not be sufficient to pay the wages of council staff.
A boost in beach-savvy tourists will help struggling business ratepayers fulfill their tax obligations. The Blue Flag scheme is widely recognised as a mark of quality and environmental awareness and is used by many holidaymakers when choosing summer destinations.
Meanwhile in Albufeira the council is cutting it fine with work stating only yesterday to make safe crumbling cliff tops above two favourite beaches.
Unstable cliffs above the Santa Eulalia and Maria Luisa beaches are being worked on just ten days before the official opening of the bathing season on May 17th.
The work aims to "finish what nature started," according to the regional director of the Portuguese Environment Agency, stressing that at both beaches the cliffs "had signs of instability" following incomplete natural landslides that had occurred in April.
Parallel to the safety work of the cliffs new signage has been installed, and existing signage that has been damaged has been repaired, across the Algarve warning of the dangers of sitting under cliffs, which many people still do to avoid the heat of the sun.
