We never stop growing, expanding and creating new ways to better serve our readers. In 43 years, we have progressed from reaching a handful of local readers to reaching over 100,000 readers a week through our print edition, website, social media and other channels.
When I moved to Portugal in 1973 there were only two annual publications. Then called ‘What’s On in the Algarve’ and ‘Frank Cooks guide’. I came from a background of local newspapers and organising community and lifestyle exhibitions. Opportunities abounded, but there was the small matter of a revolution to be resolved first, and that took a few years of waiting, but the outcome was a compliment to Portugal and the Portuguese people.
The newspaper first appeared in August 1977 produced from a back room and very limited resources. Rapid growth and readership followed quickly. In 1980 The Algarve Magazine was launched alongside the newspaper, the first monthly glossy magazine for the Algarve. Many people tell me that they still have collections of each edition. The Algarve was growing quickly as it recovered from the revolution and was gathering worldwide interest and in 1983 we started to take the Algarve to its potential audience. The first ‘Algarve in London’ exhibition was held at the Dorchester Park Lane, followed later by Algarve in New York, Algarve in Frankfurt, Algarve in Toronto and Algarve in Hong Kong, all promoted and sponsored by The Algarve Magazine. These continued throughout the 80’s with huge success and attendance.
In the early 90’s it became clear that the rapidly growing market could only be served by a free newspaper with its ability to reach many more people. The Algarve Magazine was taken out of production and all our recourses turned to expanding the newspaper. We realised that a paid glossy could never reach the majority of new potential visitors and residents that the Algarve was now attracting.
In the early 90’s The Portugal News was the first English language newspaper to launch a website, very limited compared with what you see today, but it was the foundation of what was to come. From small beginnings into the multi-language site thousands of people enjoy today.
We pride ourselves in being the first publication to launch new initiatives. The first local (Algarve) Portuguese English language newspaper, the first country specific international exhibitions, the first local newspaper website. The Portugal News also owns the International Algarve Fair, the largest expat exhibition held anywhere in Portugal, now in its 15th year and regularly attracting many thousands of visitors.
All this has been achieved by an extraordinary team of people, many of whom have been with us for over 15 years. From a newspaper produced in a back room by three people, it’s now produced by a team of dedicated people using the latest technology. Despite that, our commitment to our readers remains the same. To bring you the best of Portugal, honest unbiased reporting and promoting the country we all love. The best is yet to come, we never stand still. PL