Diversifying the Algarve’s economy beyond its heavy reliance on tourism was the central message voiced today in Faro during the region’s first Economic Congress.
Economist and conference curator Miguel Frasquilho argued that the Algarve “must diversify its economic base” and “be more than just tourism,” describing this as the region’s greatest strategic challenge.
Frasquilho, a former head of both Portugal’s foreign trade and investment agency (AICEP) and airline TAP, highlighted what he called the Algarve’s “demographic paradox”: a resident population of about 470,000 that swells several times over each year with the arrival of tourists.
“This seasonal pressure represents both an opportunity and a challenge, demanding innovative solutions in mobility, housing, healthcare, and environmental protection,” he said. He stressed the need to invest in other sectors such as agribusiness, the blue economy and renewable energy.
The president of the Algarve Tourism Board, André Gomes, also underlined the importance of not only diversifying tourism markets—citing the recent push into North America—but of broadening the region’s economic base. He noted that investment in nature and cultural tourism in recent years has already helped soften the seasonal cycle, with more hotels now remaining open year-round.
“Seasonality is inevitable but it can be mitigated,” said Mário Azevedo Ferreira, president of the General Assembly of the Algarve Hotels and Tourist Resorts Association (AHETA). Ferreira, a former director-general of the NAU hotel group, pointed out that 75% of hotel revenue is still concentrated in July and August, when “sun and beach are the main products.” He suggested further golf course development could ease this imbalance but criticised current legislation as too restrictive, urging authorities to “stop being a brake and start helping” the sector.
Meanwhile, António Miguel Pina, president of the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) and mayor of Olhão, lamented that the region’s wealth has nearly doubled over the past 20 years without a corresponding rise in social development indicators.
“We have almost doubled our GDP, but the economy that reaches people has not followed the same trajectory,” he said. Pina also criticised the lack of affordable housing, blaming developers for refusing to build at prices families can afford and calling on the state to guarantee accessible housing through public policy.
Also speaking at the congress, José Apolinário, head of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR), called for a stronger coordinating role for CCDRs in public policy, regardless of electoral outcomes. He stressed the importance of raising local skills and reminded participants that the Algarve has been the region that “mobilised the most funding for water policy” nationwide—an issue he described as “central to the Algarve’s development.”
