Having been definitively incorporated into the Regional Development Strategy for the Algarve for the period 2007-2013, nautical tourism in the Algarve constitutes the most recent proof of the region’s historical and long-standing links with the sea. Apart from specific regional evidence, this product’s potential is in keeping with the guidelines set out in the National Strategic Tourism Plan which describes nautical tourism as being one of the 10 strategic products for the development of tourism in Portugal, considered as a priority in the Algarve and Lisbon, and less so in the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores. In a context of scientific knowledge and support for public policy in a sector with strong ties to private enterprise, education and research have been progressively incorporating this field into their areas and study initiatives at different observation levels.

Within this framework of institutional involvement, where the Algarve has been revealing progressive interest in the knowledge and vision of the economic and management dynamics associated with the sea, a joint decision was taken by the Algarve Commission for Coordination and Regional Development (CCDRAlg), the International Centre for Territorial and Tourism Research (CIITT) at the University of the Algarve, the Port and Maritime Transport Institute (IPTM), the Algarve Promotion Bureau (ATA), the Algarve Tourist Board (ERTA) and Portimão Municipal Council to organise the International Conference “Nautical Sport and Leisure – Routes to Assertion”, which seeks to debate and contribute towards the definition of the key elements in this area.