Where have all the tourists gone?
I AM an expat in Portugal and here is my tongue-in-cheek view of life this summer without British tourists. When the Foreign and Commonwealth Office lifted its blanket warning against all non-essential international travel on July 4, it did not include Portugal in the permitted destinations. The ban doesn’t make travel illegal, but it invalidates your travel insurance and means you may not get help from the embassy if things go wrong. Returning British holidaymakers will need to self-isolate for two weeks. I had a rant about the apparent injustice of Portugal being put on the no-go list of countries, but I am changing my mind. With blue skies and temperatures in the 30s, I have found that a lovely sea breeze has put things in perspective. In the car on the way to the beach, I quickly noticed the lack of traffic, which is certainly not usual for the summer months on the Algarve. I almost had the road to myself. I was able to park close to the beach, not a mile away in a ditch, and there were only half-a-dozen other cars in the car park. Where are all the families with screaming children? The man who hires out the sun loungers and umbrellas smiled at me. He normally rushes around, taking your money before vaguely pointing where you can sit. But instead, he escorted me to my lounger and charged me half the normal rate. There is even a special price for the week. In the beach restaurant, there were no queues. It was straight in, with one waiter showing me to a table, another struggling to get the cork out of an unco-operative bottle before pouring me a glass of wine and a third hovering to take my order. I’m not used to so much attention. I enjoyed a far too leisurely lunch as the restaurant was not anxious for me to leave because there was no one waiting for a table. I staggered back to my lounger for an afternoon nap as it was far too quiet to stay awake. When I opened my eyes again, I was offered waiter service on the beach. OK, you’ve twisted my arm, I’ll have a beer. Special discount? Happy hour all day? Even though I’m enjoying self-isolation on the Algarve, I am worried about the major crisis facing Portuguese tourism. The country is desperate for the return of British visitors.
GEOFF COOK, Albufeira, Portugal.