Dear Editor,
My family and I have been coming to the Algarve for the best part of 20 years, and in some ways it has become our second home.
The attractions of the Golden Triangle are self-evident. Sun, sea, sand and easy access from the UK are the obvious advantages, and each visit leaves us with more cherished memories.
In those 20 years, hardly a corner of the Golden Triangle has remained untouched in the name of progress.
EU millions have transformed the region’s infrastructure, new villas and apartments are completed almost weekly, and golf is king, with a selection of championship courses all within easy driving distance.
New restaurants have sprung up, and older ones refurbished. Service has improved dramatically since the early days, when a wait of two hours between ordering and eating was not uncommon.
Against all this, my one abiding fear is that the Algarve might be pricing itself out of the lucrative tourist market upon which it is so dependent for its economic well being, and I read with foreboding about the country’s crippling debts.
The Algarve does not hold the monopoly of sun, sea, sand and easy access from the UK, and unless tourists, even the most well heeled, feel they are getting value for money, they may go elsewhere.
With this in mind, I question some of the prices being charged.
A round of golf is absurdly overpriced. Even modest restaurants are pricing themselves out of the market, and if I am asked to pay London prices, then I will dine in London.
David Osborne
By email
