The Algarve has this week been crowned with the title of ‘Best European Region in Tourism and Gastronomy 2018’, awarded by the European Council of Food and Wine Confraternities (CEUCO) in the 13th edition of the AURUM Awards.
The Algarve’s distinct gastronomic flavours and know-how have conquered millions of people all over the world and are widely considered one of the main allures for tourists to the Algarve, as well as being an important form of regional cultural expression.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, which took place in Athens (Greece) this past weekend, the Algarve Regional Tourist Board (RTA) president João Fernandes, said the title “comes when the Algarve is strengthening its offering in culinary and oenological tourism.
“This award gives us recognition and perseverance to continue to enhance, preserve and promote our gastronomic and oenological heritage, divulging the region through dishes and experiences around the table. And the victory is even sweeter because it has been attributed by those who share a passion for gastronomy and wines, as a cultural element and a symbol of identity”, he elaborated.
The restaurant Infante Panorâmico, in Praia Verde (Castro Marim), was also one of the winners, after being elected ‘Best European Restaurant 2018’.
In recent years, the Algarve has made concerted efforts in the consolidation of its culinary and oenological offerings, as strategic products for the development of tourism in the region, throughout the year and throughout its territory.
The promotion of Algarve gastronomy, its products and its ancestral recipes has been developed through various programmes and projects, such as ‘Algarve Cooking Vacations’, which aims to create culinary and gastronomic holiday programmes.
Recently, the RTA also promoted a study that defined the profiles of tourists, to identify market trends and to define the best strategies for the elaboration of new offerings in the region.
Created in 2005, the CEUCO aims to bring together the largest number of confraternities and gastronomic and oenological associations in the European Union, with a common denominator: to showcase the products and recipes that characterise the unique gastronomic identity of each region.
After Athens (Greece) and Cordoba (Spain), the next CEUCO congress will be held in Albufeira in 2019, after the Algarve’s entry was approved by the institution.
