The Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Rita Marques, recognized this Wednesday, in Pinhel, in the district of Guarda, that the tourism sector has “a fundamental role in terms of the regeneration of the territories.”
“Tourism is a force for good, it is a force for good. And, of course, it has an immense responsibility to design the territories, but it also has, above all, a responsibility to regenerate the territories”, he said.
Rita Marques guaranteed that there are few sectors of activity that contribute to territorial cohesion such as tourism and recognized that the sector has “a fundamental role in terms of the regeneration of territories”.
The official was speaking in Pinhel, where she marked the launch of the concession tender, within the framework of the Revive program, for the requalification of the building known as Casa Grande, for tourism purposes.
He mentioned this Wednesday that tourism assumed the responsibility of finding an economic operator that can make this building “a space for everyone”.
“This is a great responsibility that assists tourism. And, for this reason, we are here, body and soul, showing that we are capable of regenerating territories”, he affirmed.
At the end of the session, Rita Marques told journalists that the concession contest launched this Wednesday for the requalification of Casa Grande contemplates the payment of rent and contemplates the commitment of the investor “to make the necessary investments to remodel the space, requalify the space and locate it with the planned tourist offer”.
The mayor of Pinhel, Rui Ventura, said that his expectations regarding the Revive program are “many”, at a time when the county “is clearly on an upward trajectory in terms of attracting tourists and consequently to the attraction of investments in the area of tourism”.
“The launch of Revive for the rehabilitation of Casa Grande represents the illusion, on the one hand, of recovering an emblematic building and, on the other hand, of creating a type of tourist offer that we do not yet have and that will be complementary to the various projects that have emerged in recent years in the city and in the county”, he admitted.
According to the mayor, the Casa Grande, also known as “Solar dos Condes de Pinhel”, which once housed the Paços do Concelho de Pinhel, is a Baroque noble house, which was built in the first decade of the 18th century next to the wall . .
The currently unoccupied building, which belonged to the Antas e Menezes family, later passed to the Noronha e Avilez family and, at the end of the 19th century, was sold to the Count of Pinhel.
The property, which was occupied during the French invasions, in 1810, became, in the 20th century, the headquarters of the Grémio da Lavoura and, in the years 1973-1974, the agricultural cooperative ceded the space to the Municipality of Pinhel.
The Vice President of Tourism of Portugal, Teresa Monteiro, also present at the session, recalled that the Revive program covers, at a national level, a total of 52 properties.
Revive is “a successful program,” he said, indicating that they are 25 properties in bidding, 19 with signed contracts and two with recovery completed and exploration started (Alter do Chão stud farm and São Paulo Convent, Elvas).
The Hotel de Turismo da Guarda was also included in the program, but the two contests were declared void.
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services said that the process is being discussed with the president of the Chamber and that news will be announced soon.
Rita Marques also traveled to the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, having visited Barca d’Alva and the Historic Village of Castelo Rodrigo, where she participated in the award ceremony for the “Best UNWTO Tourist Towns” to the community.
Source: Observadora
