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Algarve |
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It’s Algarve now
• 22 Mar 2007 •
 THE new brand name announced by the government for the region, which will be from now on promoted abroad as ‘Allgarve’, has caused a huge amount of protests from many people in Portugal’s number one tourist destination.
The Algarve’s Social Democrat MP Mendes Bota has asked the government to cancel immediately the name change which he considered as “offensive to the people of Algarve.” Elidérico Viegas, president of Algarve’s Hotel and Resorts Association (AHETA) said that when he read about the new promotion campaign, he thought that the second “L” in Algarve’s name was due to a misprint.
Elidérico Viegas said he believes that nobody will understand what the meaning of this new word, Allgarve, is, adding that he feels that this is an “extremely wrong marketing idea. The Algarve and Port wine are the two Portuguese brands better known at an international level, so we believe that it would be a total nonsense to make this change.”
The President of Algarve’s Town Halls Association, Macário Correia said: “The Prime Minister should ask the Economy Minister to step down immediately. Any changes to the region’s name, or the way in which it is pronounced can be seen as an outrageous attack on Algarve’s history.”
Former Faro Mayor Jose Vitorino stressed: “This is a matter of state, so I believe President Cavaco Silva should interfere to stop the name change.”
Helder Martins, President of Algarve’s Tourism Board (RTA) said he couldn’t understand the reason for such a huge number of protests against the promotional campaign. He said: “The meaning of Allgarve is All of the Algarve and it is a brand name for a promotional programme that includes a series of events which will take place throughout the Algarve over the next three years. This new brand name wasn’t designed to replace the name of the Algarve or its traditional brand which will continue to be used in other promotional campaigns.”
The controversial project was formally announced by Economy Minister, Manuel Pinho, during the first day of a tourism fair in Lisbon. He explained that the government took the decision to create the Allgarve campaign which was designed to reaffirm the glamorous appeal of the brand of Algarve’s tourism industry, saying: “Our tourism offer has increased steadily and it is now at its highest quality level ever. However, we believe that there is still room for important improvement.” |  Return to Top
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