Places to visit in 2012 – The Algarve
The Algarve region of southern Portugal is indeed one of the most popular tourist destinations on the continent of Europe but that doesn’t mean that they’re sleeping on their laurels, in today’s day and age one has to constantly be offering new things and more particularly, offer what your potential clients want in order to continue surviving and thriving.
The region is popular due to a combination of factors, great weather, great geography and a wonderful people and culture. There are the traditional attractions of sea, sand and golf – golf is incredibly big in the Algarve, the region being host to around thirty top-notch golf courses – but the sun-drenched region is planning to attract an increasing number of visitors to their shores and as such there is an entire crop of new or renovated luxury hotels dotting the coastline, all of which emphasize style, authenticity and most importantly, Eco-friendliness. The transition to Eco-friendliness is something that has been a long time coming to the Algarve, but they owners have kept a close ear to the cultural trends and know that most people are much more aware of their carbon-footprint nowadays, as well as other things such as sustainable resources and such.
For instance, in the town of Portimao, the 38-room Hotel Bela Vista just re-opened, this is a 1918 villa that overlooks the famous Praia da Rocha, the building was renovated entirely and features stunning decoration designs.
The goal of attracting new visitors each year has spread to some of the quieter places in the region, for instance Sagres which now includes the Martinhal resort as well as the scheduled opening of a Conrad hotel in the autumn.
In a similar vein, those Lisboans who are in the know, are flocking to Olhao – this used to be a fish-canning town but now it turned itself into a resort with very stylish lodging options, not to mention the fact that the city is surrounded by great natural attractions such as the Ria Formosa National park and of course pristine white sand beaches.
When you add these facts to the already attractive nature of the region, it’s clear to understand why the Algarve will always be in any “places to visit” list for the near future.
