The Algarve hoteliers’ association (AHETA) has slammed the lack of public investment in the region, saying the state would look to the region more seriously if “tourists could vote”.
“If they could, we would have everything here. But they don’t, and the Algarve does not have many voters,” AHETA boss Elidérico Viegas told i newspaper.
One of the region’s most pressing issues has been the delayed roadworks on the eastern section of the EN125, which Viegas says has been keeping tourists away.
“The EN125 has been undergoing roadworks for nine years. Everyone says the Algarve has to have good infrastructures, but there has been disinvestment,” he said, adding that the state of the road has kept Spanish tourists away, especially as the only alternative to the EN125 is a tolled motorway.
And while the tourism sector has been growing in the Algarve, Viegas said that “nothing is being done to sustain this growth”.
“We announce that the Algarve is in high demand, but we don’t ensure the quality of the services that is necessary to sustain this tendency.”
As he explains, issues range from badly rundown roads to hospitals that are constantly in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons.
“We have politicians who are from the Algarve and know about these issues but appear to forget about them. The lack of political power will always be a problem.”
Given how important the Algarve’s tourism sector is to the national economy, Viegas questioned why the state continues to overlook the region.
“It is incomprehensible why nothing is done,” he concluded.
michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
