The president of the Algarve Hotels and Tourism Enterprises Association (Aheta), Hélder Martins, This Friday said that a possible return of Formula 1 to the region, announced by the prime minister, represents a “healthy business possibility” with high international promotion of destination.
“We welcome a major Formula 1 award, because for many Algarve hotel units the week proved here was the best ever, especially for the highest quality units,” Aheta President Hélder Martins told Lusa.
The Prime Minister announced on Thursday night in Quarteira that the government has “all ready to formalize the return” to the Algarve of the Formula 1 World Championship in 2027, after being held in 2025 and 2026 of the MotoGP Grand Prix at the Algarve International Race Track (AIA), in Portimão, which has been ininterructly the competition since 2020.
According to Luís Montenegro, these motorized events imply some financial effort from the government, “but have a direct and indirect return of promotion” which, according to the ruler, “are worth it.”
For the president of the largest Algarve hoteliers association, in addition to the promotional environment that “an event of this dimension represents for tourism in the region, the possibility of business is always healthy”.
According to Helder Martins, hoteliers are unaware of the details of the process, “except for what was transmitted by the Prime Minister” during his speech at the Pontal Festival, an event that signaled the PSD’s ‘reentré’.
“I think the process would have been finalized on Thursday and that the statement [do primeiro-ministro] It means that Formula 1 is guaranteed in 2027, ”he noted.
Contacted by Lusa, AIA’s commercial director Miguel Praia said that “at the moment, it is not possible to add more information to the prime minister’s statement.”
“Aia always kept the channel open with Formula 1, a movement started by our Paulo Pinheiro [o fundador do circuito algarvio, falecido em julho de 2024]”, Miguel Praia said.
Lusa also tried to obtain a reaction from the Algarve Tourism Region to the announcement of Luís Montenegro, but this has not been possible so far.
The Algarve Circuit of Portimão received in 2020 and 2021 two Formula 1 World Championship events, benefiting the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in some countries, 24 years after the last ‘Queen’ Race Race of Automobile that took place at Estoril’s race track in 1996.
Portugal has welcomed 18 times a major prize of the Formula 1 World Cup, initially at the Citadino Circuit of Boavista, in Porto, in 1958, the following year, by Monsanto, in Lisbon, before returning to the calendar in 1984, in Estoril, in Cascais, where it remained until 1996.
Also read:
