Via Algarviana

Via Algarviana was created by the Association Almargem, a Non-Governmental Environment Organization founded in 1988. This project was developed within an application to Algarve 21 Operational Program, QREN and European Union – FEDER and emerged from the necessity of complementing the existent products in Algarve, since it assumed that Sun and Sea tourism was not going to continue benefiting Algarve in the long run.

Via Algarviana is a fully implemented pedestrian route with nearly 300km in the interior of Algarve, a good example of product innovation. However, Via Algarviana is not merely a pedestrian route but a group of services that provide a set of experiences and feelings, once nature to cultural and ethnographic aspects are characteristic of the interior Algarve population. Therefore, the strategy is to integrate touristic enterprises near the rout into a global package.

The significance of this case study is not only because it was the first project of this kind to appear in Algarve (a structured product around a pedestrian route) but also due to the innovative vision of a group of people (Almargem and Algarve Walkers) who felt that Algarve had a lot of potential to develop a project of this nature. Additionally, the development of this venture brings together the will of many public entities with different perspectives on the development of tourism, making it possible to work in a product that may unite them. We are talking about entities such as the municipalities (Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Lagos, Loulé, Monchique, Portimão, São Brás de Alportel, Silves, Tavira e Vila do Bispo), Tourism Association of the Algarve (ATA) and the Regional Entity of Tourism of the Algarve (ERTA). Furthermore, the integration of the various dimensions of sustainability (including economic, socio-cultural and environmental) in the project, stresses the importance of this case study as a reference to the region.

Visit the official website: http://www.viaalgarviana.org/

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Postal Address	Apartado 251 . 8100 Loulé
Phone Number	351 289 412 959
Webpage	http://www.viaalgarviana.org/
Released	15/11/2012
Country	Portugal
Organization Type	NGOs, Partnerships, Networks, Projects
Topics	Knowledge Networking, Training and Education , Natural Heritage & Biodiversity , Human Rights & Labour Rights , Travel, Transport & Mobility
Operational level	Regional