just received a leaflet saying that roxy music will be playing at the sheration algarve and the tickets and dinner are from 200 euros

if you just want to see the show its 75.

well in these days of makin poverty history , its good to know that we can contribute to OAP singing groups pension pot


as for 125 euros for dinner...well we have just done a weeks shopping at PLUS the bill was 55 euros...so i wonder how we get to 125 for one persons dinner

Have you any idea how much water these guys drink?

well I know I drink gasoline even at 1.19 a litre (despte huge tax, shipping petrol firms profit) compared to aqua castello which my local station charges for a 25 ml bottle - 75 cents.

drink petrol its good for you (if your not a smoker of course)

What date are they on?

Tuesday, Aug 2nd

I went to see "our Brian" and Roxy Music way back in 1982 at Faro football stadium, King Crimson were the suport band, can't remember how much it cost. Can remember standing ON the grass in Faro whilst all around smoked it!!!!

B1D

In Bali a good meal cost 1 euro...

I was talking to a very well known safari Jeep guy today.......he told me three years ago he had 16 jeeps a day running..today it's 4......everybody knows that today you dont come to Algarve for a cheap holiday......problem is ...its expensive and very bad service etc.....and not that much fun if one compares to many other venues...so basically the Algarve is dying....is it ????????

what a load of twaddle,

The algarve is not expensive compared to " most " EU countries, remember it is not the third world.
If " jeep safaris " are down then this could be due to competition, poor marketing, etc , etc etc.
We visit 4-5 times/year and pay an average of 30% less for meals etc than back here in the west country ( Not London ).

We also know property owners who have holday homes in the algarve who are fully booked for the summer by the end of march.

The algarve like most of the established holiday destinations is facing more competition, is clientel has is more aware of flight deals , direct booking etc.

But it is still only 2-3 hrs from most major N european cities, the weather is still reliable, the portuguese are still pleased to see us ( majority ).

BUT as any one in business should know " if you don,t give the customer what they want then they will always find someone who will !!

Well said tbbr

Could also be that the issue about the jeep safari guys is another case of "oversupply" - you only have to look at retail operations to see that periodically someone identifies a "gap" in the market and then everyone rushes to fill it leading to too many of the same things to support everyone in the "sector".

Years ago there were hardly any used car dealers in the Algarve - now there are almost hundreds !

Then it was "artesanato" pottery shops - now there seem to be thousands and many must be struggling.

then the "posh" furniture and interiors shops (particularly in the QDL/VDL/Vilamoura areas) - how much business can they all do ?? (Incidentally we see a lot of retail businesses failing - not all because of a weak economy - many because there is just simply too much "supply")

It seems now that the current vogue is garden centres !! - considering that these will largely be aimed at the permanent (about 350,000) residents and other property owners - to have about 7 on one single mile long stretch of the 125 alone (near the Algarve Shopping) never mind all those around Lagoa and elsewhere, would seem a bit much - I cant see tham ALL surviving but that doesnt mean the Algarve is losing popularity for tourists - in fact I think I have read that the "tourism authorities" are pretty optimistic for this year

Interesting.....The UK papers claim that Faro is still the number one destination but talk to hotels and retailers and they say the opposite...???..whilst I agree that there might be oversupply from shops I wonder why hotels are down..

I don't know about other areas of the Algarve, but in Carvoeiro and the surrounding area, more people are staying in villas and apartments than hotels.

I do not know of any one who has visted the algarve in the past two years who has stayed in a hotel.

When you can get a fully equipped 2bd, 2bth appt ( tv , video, dvd, cd player etc ) on a good complex for less than £130/person/week ( sleeping 6 ) in AUGUST. why bother.

The average family now wants the flexibilty and value that apartments and villas offer.

The Algarve is certainly much more expensive than three years ago......and the price of a Villa there is twice that of a similar one in Spain (or more)....Fuel is 25% more than Spain and the local Intermache is a rip off.....I'm going to Turkey this year...