The Algarve is a worldly known historic province in the south of Portugal, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean from the south and the west. Millions of people come to the southernmost sun-kissed region of Portugal to enjoy the enormous limestone cliffs and sandy beaches along the coast.
Its administrative center is in the city of Faro, where both the airport and the University of Algarve are located. The area counts around 450.000 permanent residents.
Tourists often visit coastal resort towns like Albufeira and Lagos, known for their crenelated coves, historic centers and dynamic nightlife.
Despite its popularity, some areas still remain preserved. Such is Cape St. Vincent Nation Park encompassing villages, untouched bays, meadows, and pine forests. There are exotic birds such as flamingos and purple gallinules nesting around the area, far away from the dynamic areas in the region.
The Algarve represents the fourth most developed region in Portugal. Production of food such as fish, seafood, fruits and vegetables, is of economic importance in the region. However, tourism and its related activities make up the bulk of the Algarve’s economy. Even though Lisbon surpasses the Algarve in terms of tourism revenue, the region is still considered Portugal’s most important tourist region, drawing in millions of tourists every year.
During the pandemic, this tourism-dependent region suffered its worst year recorded. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, and travel was suspended, businesses in Algarve made 800 million euros less than the year before. The 65% drop wiped out thousands of jobs in the region. According to the hotel association AHETA, 2020 was the worst year on record in terms of occupancy rates and in term of business and economic results. Hotel occupancy was at a low 28%, compared to 63% in 2019. That year, one of the main visitors to this area, the Brits, brought in around 3.2 billion euros in Portugal. Those numbers were drastically going down with the pandemic. According to AHETA, Algarve’s tourism industry would not have survived, if it wasn’t for the government’s help, which allowed them to maintain competitive levels in the recovery phase. In November 2020, Algarve recorded a 67% increase in the number of registered jobless people.
This shows the importance of the region’s tourism and its effect on the country’s economy. As mentioned, sunny places like Algarve are simply a tourist magnet for people around the world. With that, the place automatically becomes a great potential for businesses. Whether we are talking about the tourism industry, or tech startups and companies, the region is an abundant place that offers not only great weather conditions but also a large audience that can be a crucial part for any new business.
The region has fully recovered from its Covid-19 dry period, and it is now open more than ever for people to visit, but also invest and start up their businesses. It offers a great location, perfect weather conditions and sea views like no other place. People are getting more interested in investing in such a promising place. Such an example is an SEO agency in Portugal that has offices in Lisbon and enjoys Portugal’s work tradition and way of life. AWISEE is planning on opening its new offices in the Algarve region, in hopes to find new local potential talent and build its business further on.
The place is perfectly suitable for businesses from the hospitality industry as well. With the new marketing strategy, put in place by the Algarve’s Tourism Bureau, targeting key markets such as the UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and France, the country is helping the region attract a bigger number of tourists and investors.
