Against many odds, including the torrential rainfall, the 1st Festival of Smuggling held in Alcoutim was a roaring success with thousands of visitors from Spain and Portugal enjoying the two day event.
The council is delighted with the results, especially the with the floating bridge laid between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana on the Spanish side, which attracted around 10,000 people.
"The impact of the event and the potential that it offers to our area has been demonstrated," said the council, despite the weather conditions that made it necessary to shut off access to the bridge on Sunday afternoon.
The towns of Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana, on the Spanish side of the river, were decked out and provided visitors a variety of cultural events including music, theater, traditional arts and crafts, and circus acts while smugglers and tax officers roamed the streets trying to look as authentic as possible.
The festival was part of a tourism development strategy for the municipality based on promoting nature, history, gastronomy and culture - how smuggling fits into this line-up is an interesting topic for later discussion, but the event went well and should be repeated depending on the results of a cost-benefit analysis.
The Mayor of Alcoutim, Osvaldo Gonçalves, said this Smugglers event can be done again and should become an annual part of Alcoutim’s tourism offer.
The opening of the festival was attended by Portugal’s Finance Minister, Mário Centeno, the president of the Regional Tourism Board, Desidério Silva, a representative from the Spanish Government and from the 365 Algarve programme.
