The Algarve’s tourism boss has celebrated the international success of the Volta ao Algarve cycling competition, held this month across the region and aired live on TV in 120 countries in five continents.
“The media impact on an international level reached very significant numbers, which completely justifies the investment that the RTA (tourism board) has made to promote the competition,” said Desidério Silva.
As he explained, the Volta ao Algarve has always been a prestigious sporting event but “we needed to invest in it to garner international attention and put it on the same level as the main cycling events in the world”.
Establishing the Algarve as a top destination for cyclists has been one of the main goals of the RTA recently, which is why the success of the event abroad is so important.
“Volta ao Algarve is one of the most important sporting events of the year in Portugal and is a unique opportunity to promote the region,” Silva said, adding that cycling lovers in 120 countries were able to see “how appealing and pleasant the region is to cycle all-year-round”.
Polish cyclist Michal Kwiatkowski was crowned the winner of this year’s race, finishing first in the overall classification as well as the final stage (click here).
michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/pg/municipio.lagoa
