Figures from private excursion companies and national institutes bolster this forecast.
With busy summertime just around the corner, spring is for many a preferred option to the hectic peak season thanks to the quieter roads and beaches, lower prices and kinder temperatures. As well as its stunning natural flora and fauna.
Spring is, according to outdoors tourism company Formosamar, when “many hundreds of tourists” choose to visit the Algarve, to discover the best of what its countryside has to offer.
Offering nature treks and boat rides along the Algarve coastline, Formosamar also specialises in birdwatching excursions.
“Official figures from the Institute for Nature and Biodiversity Conservation (ICNB) show that more than 18,000 tourists took guided nature tours between January and September 2014. And those are just the official figures; there are thousands of tourists who opt to explore without using specialised companies.”
Those tourists, Formosamar spokesperson Paulo Nugas tells The Portugal News, “are foreigners who, as well as wanting to learn about the culture of our country, seek to enrich their knowledge discovering new species of birds.”
The Algarve is home to around 200 different species of birds, with the Ria Formosa wetlands in the Eastern Algarve being one of the most important humid habitats for aquatic birds in Portugal.
Formosamar has seen its visitor numbers almost double over the past two years:
“In 2013 we carried out activities and trips for approximately 15,000 people. In 2014 it was 20,000 people and this year we expect 30,000 people (approximately),” Paulo Nugas says.
Addressing the Algarve’s birdwatching niche, Formosamar, whose clients hail mostly from the UK, Germany, Spain, Holland and France, describe it as “a sector that is booming” and claim “people from around the world are increasingly seeking these kinds of activities in nature reserves and natural parks.”
Describing its mission as being to promote the Ria Formosa – “one of the most important protected areas in Europe and which was recently classified as one of Portugal’s ‘Seven Natural Wonders’”.
Formosamar operates daily trips year-round from Faro and Olhão, and from Tavira from April to October.