Where has the tourism gone?

Ellie · Post by **Ellie** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:50 pm

It may be pointless to you but its a livelihood to some Portuguese folk..their only way of making a living.

bife73 · Post by **bife73** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:39 pm

When you say tourism isn't down it was busy in the summer season? I wonder if we are talking about the same village? I live in Carvoeiro 12 months of the year, and have lived in the Algarve for 21 years, of which a good 12 yrs in Carvoeiro.
Yes it was busy in July & August, but you cannot live 12 months of the year on 2 months earnings!! When I say tourism is down I'm not saying nobody is coming here, but the season is getting shorter and shorter. The village was already getting very quiet by mid September....Surely as the Algarve evolves and becomes more of a household name, we should have longer seasons?
We need to get our heads out of the sand and see the problem for what it is and get pro-active. Stress our worries to local council....make sure motions are put into action.
Once we have empty streets in August, it will be too late! I know that is far fetched.....but the general picture that seems to painted here is definately seems to me to be watered down reality.....

Misty · Post by **Misty** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:06 am

Ellie wrote:It may be pointless to you but its a livelihood to some Portuguese folk..their only way of making a living.

I am not knocking anyone trying to make a living, but things get outdated. All I am saying is there is less call for this kind of thing these days.

Misty · Post by **Misty** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 11:10 am

bife73 wrote:When you say tourism isn't down it was busy in the summer season? I wonder if we are talking about the same village? I live in Carvoeiro 12 months of the year, and have lived in the Algarve for 21 years, of which a good 12 yrs in Carvoeiro.
Yes it was busy in July & August, but you cannot live 12 months of the year on 2 months earnings!! When I say tourism is down I'm not saying nobody is coming here, but the season is getting shorter and shorter. The village was already getting very quiet by mid September....Surely as the Algarve evolves and becomes more of a household name, we should have longer seasons?
We need to get our heads out of the sand and see the problem for what it is and get pro-active. Stress our worries to local council....make sure motions are put into action.
Once we have empty streets in August, it will be too late! I know that is far fetched.....but the general picture that seems to painted here is definately seems to me to be watered down reality.....

Ermm, yes I live in Carvoeiro 12 months a year too. I think though, as previously said that people may be travelling further afield whilst on holiday and giving the expensive bars and restaurants a wide berth. I know of many people who visit the Algarve at all times of the year and I think people do come on holiday out of season, but I don't think they are spending their money in the expensive resorts. Carvoeiro is bound to suffer. The problems are the prices in places like Carvoeiro and lack of marketing for the Algarve as a whole. I still don't think tourism is down though, so we'll have to disagree on that point.

SJ & RE · Post by **SJ & RE** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:49 pm

As a holiday maker only (at present) We love it here in CVO. We do go to the expensive, mid & cheap, use as many of the facilities on offer as possible & actively try & spread what money we have 2 spend in as many places as possible. Our vacation time in CVO is very special 2 us & we come as often as the farm allows us 2 leave it & of course spend what we have.Perhaps we do not come during the height of the summer as it would be 2 hot 4 me & 2 uncomfortable 4 his self 2 play golf.Obviously if we could, we would be living there & possibly making different choices & different comments, no doubt. But 2 us CVO has all we need & is perfect as it is. As I said, if we lived or were trying 2 make a business work out there, thoughts & comments are bound 2 be different.

Gambrinus · Post by **Gambrinus** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:55 am

I keep reading "the prices have increased".

The way I see it, our money is just worth less - the Euro has lost 50% of it's value since it's introduction.

I hear the Portugal stall at this years tourism fair in Berlin is just as boring and uninformative as it has ever been. There are private companies that invest more time, energy and money in promoting tourism in Portugal than the portuguese tourism board. If I didnt know better, I would think they really don't want to promote tourism at all.

When was the last time you saw a Portugal ad on TV? I seem to recall they had an ad on CNN, but that must have been at least 3 years ago.

laserblazer · Post by **laserblazer** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:02 pm

[quote="Gambrinus"]
The way I see it, our money is just worth less - the Euro has lost 50% of it's value since it's introduction.

quote]

Against what currencies? I think it's value against the dollar and GBP has improved over the last five years.

Gambrinus · Post by **Gambrinus** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:09 pm

Sorry, what I meant to say is that the buying power of the Euro inside the Euro zone has dropped by 50% since it was introduced.

A person living in the Euro zone has to earn double the amount compared to 6 years ago to be able to cover his/her basic needs.

fmm · Post by **fmm** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:28 pm

I came out this weekend and the plane was packed to overflowing both ways. Also, when you book with Easyjet it asks whether you are on holiday or business. Presumably these figures are used to assist the size of the "tourist" market. I ate at Maximes one evening, and by 8pm every table and every seat had someone on it. That is not usually the sign of a struggling area. However, plenty of other restaurants did not have so many people. Is the fact that Maximes, although pricey, offers far better service and food and therefore greater value for money? The other, cheaper, restaurants cater for the mass market and therefore tend to make their money in the busier summer months?

croeso · Post by **croeso** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:53 pm

Hi - perhaps not really relevant to the discussion but we have just returned from a week in Tunisia and although it was a relatively cheap holiday, we disliked virtually everything about the place.

Stayed in a 4* hotel in Port el Kantaoui which resembled a residential home for the elderly, poor weather with very little to do. The only time that the majority of locals smile is when they sell you something or receive a tip. The room standard was very basic / dated and outside the resort resembled down town Basra.

While CVO has its faults e.g. graffiti and some parts of the 'village' badly in need of refurbishment, it is definately 100 times better than places that deep down don't really appreciate tourists.

The best part of the Tunisian experience was hearing the captain say 'Cabin crew get ready for departure'!!

No - we will NOT be going back.

Regards to all in CVO

Where has the tourism gone?

CVO & Tourism