By: DAISY SAMPSON
daisy.sampson@the-resident.com
BARS, SHOPS, restaurants and distribution companies in the Algarve have all been hit financially by the absence of some teams in the Euro 2008 championship.
Fans of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland seem to have shunned the competition and businesses are feeling the financial strain at a time when economic conditions and fuel strikes are already affecting businesses.
Anita Randall of Destination Football, a shop selling football shirts and accessories in Albufeira, told The Resident: “There has been a massive drop in sales and a big difference in the amount of stock we sold for Euro 2004 or the 2006 World Cup.”
Destination Football has also been affected by the fuel crisis, preventing stock from being delivered. She said: “We get our stock from Lisbon or Holland but the summer stock still hasn’t arrived and now it is over two weeks late, although it is probably a good thing because there is nobody here to buy it anyway.”
These sentiments are mirrored by other businesses in Albufeira. Francisco Rosado the owner of Louisiana Restaurant and Bar said: “There is a lot less business this year and less people everywhere.
“We are always much busier when England plays football. We are quiet for this Euro competition.”
Sales down
The Kilt and Kelt and Mary Ann’s are two of the busiest bars for British tourists in Albufeira. Louise Bogg works in both bars and said: “When Scotland plays an important football match, we have people travelling from all over the Algarve to watch the game at the Kilt and Kelt, but obviously that isn’t happening with this competition because none of the home teams are playing.
“We have quite a few people come and watch Portugal play,” she said, but the difference is that when it was the Champions league final and two English Premiership teams were playing, both bars “were totally packed”.
John and David are a company that distribute imported beer to many of the bars frequented by tourists in the Algarve. Rui Fernandes, the General Manager, said: “We have had more problems recently with getting supplies to us from the UK and France because of the fuel protests and I think the situation with the Euro is affecting us more than England not being in the Euro 2008 competition.”
This being said though, bars that buy from the company have been affected and feel the lack of enthusiasm from the tourists from the UK for the football competition has affected business.
Anita Randall of Destination Football described just how badly they had been affected by the absence of home nations when she said: “Our sales are down between 30 per cent and 50 per cent on what we would have sold.”
Portugal’s football team may be riding high but businesses are feeling the harsh financial realities of football here in the Algarve.
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