The latest wheeze to get Spaniards across the border to spend money in the Algarve involves a roadshow to various Spanish cities.
The regional tourism board for the Algarve leaves for Seville, Granada and Madrid to buy travel agents dinner at the end of October in a deft move designed to capture tourists by persuading travel agents and the Spanish press that the Algarve is a fine low season destination, which indeed it is.
The ‘Algarve Encanta’ initiative will run for three days in Seville, Granada and Madrid where each city will host a ‘workshop’ (dinner) that will enable the Algarve tourist offer to be presented by the Algarve ‘hoteliers and travel agents who will outline their services and make direct sales.’
The roadshow programme involves a dinner in each city with travela gents, trade bodies and the local press, which will total more than 300 people.
It is these professionals in Seville, Granada and Madrid that later will sell holiday packages to local Spaniards for visits to the Algarve.
"We're talking about a universe of more than 14 million Spanish residents in the communities of Madrid and Andalusia," says the president of the RTA, Desiderio Silva.
"October is the month that marks the beginning of the off-peak period in the Algarve and the model for 'Algarve Encanta' will be replicated in November, in Coruña, Vigo, Oporto and Aveiro.
The two trade jollies will take a €55,000 bite out of the year’s budget for promoting the Algarve. It not not known how much the bus cost.
