São Brás de Alportel hosted a stage of the 4th Meeting of Partners of the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network, taking participants on a tour of some of the most emblematic spaces linked to the municipality's productive and cultural heritage.
The meeting, which took place on May 13th and 14th, was organized by the Dynamic Group of the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network and the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), in collaboration with the municipalities of Portimão and São Brás de Alportel, and was part of the commemorative calendar of the 55th anniversary of the RTA, Algarve Tourism Region.
The national delegation is made up of representatives from public entities, tour operators, museums and spaces dedicated to industrial tourism at a national level.
In São Brás de Alportel, participants had the opportunity to visit three local industrial tourism references:
• The Cork Eco-factory – an innovative example of sustainable production in a sector with deep roots in the region;
• The Costume Museum – a museum space that preserves the ethnographic and industrial memory of the municipality;
• The EN2 Memorial House – dedicated to the legendary National Road 2, which crosses the country from north to south and is a tourist-cultural asset of increasing value.
During the delegation's reception, Marlene Guerreiro, Vice-Mayor of the Municipality, welcomed them and highlighted São Brás de Alportel's deep roots, emphasizing the entrepreneurial spirit that shaped the municipality through industry and education—a spirit that is renewed today and continues to thrive, with firm steps also taken in promoting industrial tourism as a driver of local development. They were invited to return to São Brás de Alportel to explore emerging innovations in industrial tourism, such as Praça 1914, which aims to be a true tribute to the São Brás cork industry in an open-air museum.
The municipality intends to launch the challenge of integrating this network with other sectors of the council, including traditional roofing, stone and confectionery.
This National Meeting brought together more than two hundred partners from the Portuguese Industrial Tourism Network and aimed to reflect on the current state and future challenges of this tourism offering, which focuses on the valorization of the industrial heritage in operation and the historical legacy of Portuguese industrial complexes.
With 22 partners located in the Algarve, the Network has established itself as a strategic tool for promoting tourism and culture, promoting unique experiences linked to production processes and collective memory.
