An Algarve borough council’s publicity department has once again shot itself in the foot with a spectacular lack of finesse for any known language.
Faro council is no stranger to getting it wrong. In 2012 it infuriated residents with an idiotic poster claiming: “We have developed mobility with you”.
As many claimed at the time, nothing had been done to promote mobility, and cyclists particularly took their lives in their hands every time they ventured out on to Faro’s roads.
Now, the council has invested in massive roadside hoardings that proclaim: “Faro…No Turismo”.
As this makes no grammatical sense in Portuguese (the correct expression should be Faro … pelo Turismo”), passers-by have taken it to be aimed at other languages.
The Brits – particularly those visiting en masse on coaches – have been ogling the signs and coming to the conclusion that they mean there is nothing in Faro by way of tourism.
As resident Susana Wichels laments on Facebook: “Many foreigners feel deceived by this campaign, the objective of which is to stimulate tourism in the capital but due to a poor choice of words does exactly the opposite.”
Wichels’ comments are being widely shared by people who can see exactly what she is getting at.
The Algarve is peppered with idiotic grammatical slips that somehow skirt the final proof-reading stage (if indeed there ever was one).
A campaign in Lagos baffled thousands not long ago when it declared “We and the forest”.
Many wondered whether it was a suggestion that people should urinate in the forest, and not on the borough’s beaches… No one was ever sure what it meant.
If any of our readers would like to share any other daft notices, signs or announcements, whether official or otherwise, the Resident would be delighted to give them further exposure.
Clocked in an Aljezur café last week was a note from two travellers keen to get cleaning work:
“We are temporarily flexible and can make irregular appointments”…
Happy weekend!
By NATASHA DONN
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
