The Algarve’s tourist authorities are supportive of an investment of €500,000 in EU funds to look at wine and cooking tourism for the region.
This ‘heavy investment’ involves analysing the existing niche market of culinary and oenological tourism in the ‘Algarve Cooking Vacations’ project and involves the Regional Tourism Authority, the Tourism Association of the Algarve and a local Faro restaurant.
With claims that ‘over one million people around the world travel to other countries to learn how to cook typical dishes and have culinary and oenological experiences,’ the aim is to "learn how to play this game," according to restaurateur João Amaro whose premises are located in Vila Adentro, Praça do Afonso III, Faro (website under construction), located conveniently near to the regional head office of the tourist board and to the local council.
This is where the Algarve Cooking Vacations will be tested over the next two years in a project co-financed by the European Union, under CRESC Algarve 2020, which is paying out for a study, training workshops with experts, the creation of programmes and routes, the publication of a cookbook and the internal and external promotion of this new tourism product.
The first step, according to João Amaro, will be the preparation of a study to "try and understand what already exists in the region and what still needs to be done," so that the Algarve can be sold as a culinary tourism destination.
Also at this initial stage, two thematic workshops will be promoted, one on culinary tourism and the other on wine tourism, for which national and international experts will be invited.
The partners of this project don’t expect anything to start until Autumn 2018.
Warnings already are being issued, with a jealous eye cast on the success that France and Italy have enjoyed in this market due to their international culinary recognition.
"This partnership is part of our strategy to promote the region, especially in the low season. It is a successful activity in many countries: people buy trips to know the products, recipes and wines of a region. That is, they go to places specifically to experience what is done there," explained the president of the Algarve Region of Tourism, Desidério Silva.
In another clear example that Silva remains out of his depth, as he was when running Albufeira council, the tourism boss said that days on a wine or cooking holiday will not be devoted to these activities, "People can then take advantage of other offers, whether linked to heritage, culture, golf or other activities they want to do. But the main goal is to get to know the products, the knowledge and taste the flavours."
According to João Amaro, this is not mass tourism, it is seen as an opportunity for the Algarve to attract new tourists and keep them loyal, while at the same time fighting against seasonality - at a cost of €500,000.
Comments
This project seems to be taking place to ensure that people outside Portugal get to find out about the wonderfully healthy and delicious cuisine of Portugal.
Portugal isn't known internationally for its splendid cuisine. So why would people travel there to take courses? Ive taken courses on the cuisines of France, china, Thailand, India, and a lot more .... but Portuguese cuisine is towards the bottom of my list. More importantly I suspect most serious foodies will put it near the bottom of their list as well.
These sorts of projects are particularly vague and get diverted into other areas. Using a local restaurant and publishing a new cook book - was there a fair and open competition for restaurants to bid for courses or is the restaurant owner a mate of the tourist board chief? Who will be commissioned to write the recipe book with EU finds when other authors have to take the commercial risk themselves? There are dozens of Algarve recipe and food books - why not package and promote those? (Answer: because that are private, commercial projects)
This food and wine tourism project looks to me like a box-ticking excercise for Silva to contnue to eat for free.
The private sector is way ahead in this sector and yet again the tourist board wastes money trying to replicate business models when it could help promote and coordinate private sector provision.
It's called Trip Advisor, or Google Reviews
Do you think that €500,000 of EU funding will not have to be accounted for to the Finance Department of the European Union. With respect I think you may be dreaming.
This is a dream subject for all our readers: please tell us your own ideas about the subject and even more interesting: tell us about your own experiences (stipulating names and places and all other details).