Recalcitrant Algarve councils have at last presented a united front and agreed each financially to support the Via Algarviana walking route for at least the next six months, but still are undecided who will manage it after then.
While the council mayors are unable to agree on the way the route should be managed, and by whom, the project coordinator from eco-group Almargem, Anabela Santos, said that progress had been made with the councils and the next six months of funding had been agreed by the mayors through whose territory the route passes.
The council chiefs want a new association to manage and promote the popular walking route, paid for by the councils but at the lowest cost possible.
The current levy was only €1,774 each for the next six months with a third party (Almargem) running the route so it is unlikely that the establishment of a new organisation would save money, but the councils seem reluctant to afford Almargem a long term commitment.
The project to establish, develop and promote the walking route was funded with €1 million from the EC but this ran out in 2013, since which there has been much talk and little action despite the undisputed economic benefits of a route weaving through remote villages which now are set up to offer food and accommodation to thousands of travellers each year.
The Via Algarviana fits neatly under the umbrella of ‘nature tourism’ which the regional tourist board is so keen to promote, but not with its own budget.
If the mayors can get to grips with this small but important part of their annual expenditure, the route may develop and thrive. If they set up an unwieldly structure to manage the route, money will be wasted on administration and the Via Algarviana may well suffer as a result.
