Turismo de Portugal has signed financing agreements for 37 tourism projects in the interior of the country, granting total support of €16.6 million through non-repayable incentives. These funds represent a total investment of €25.8 million under the +Interior Turismo programme, which seeks to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the national tourism sector.
The ceremony took place in Coimbra, at the headquarters of the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of the Centre, and was attended by the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, the President of Turismo de Portugal, Carlos Abade, the President of CCDR Centro, Isabel Damasceno Costa, and the Mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva.
The Centro region received the most support, with 18 projects funded for a total of €7.9 million. The investments cover cultural tourism with museum spaces, gastronomic tourism focused on local products such as wine, cherries and bread, the redevelopment of biological parks and river beaches, as well as scientific tourism and sustainability initiatives in villages.
In the northern region, 10 projects received €3.6 million in funding, focusing on promoting cultural and religious heritage, including the Caminhos de Santiago (Way of St James), and developing nature tourism, astro-tourism, rural tourism, wine tourism, spa tourism and motorhome tourism.
The Alentejo region benefited from €4.7 million distributed among seven projects aimed at boosting nature and adventure tourism through environmental interpretation centres, enhancing mountain areas, promoting cultural heritage and developing gastronomic and creative tourism.
In the Algarve, two projects received €0.4 million to upgrade walking routes and trails in the region, namely the Via Algarviana and the Caminhos de Santiago.