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(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 19, 2009 ) Portugal - Whilst many associate Portugal with golf tourism, there is another sport which is taking the tourist market by storm - horse riding - and Portugal has revealed that equestrian tourism could be worth as much as £316 million each year to the economy…
Portugal provides the ideal backdrop for horse riding, with a mild and temperate climate and the country is hoping to cash in on our four legged friends.
According to research carried out by www.myportugalproperty.com, equestrian tourism could boost the Portuguese economy and create more than 20,000 jobs jobs for local people.
You only have to look at the level of interest in golfing holiday in Portugal to see how ‘horse tourism’ could take off. Golf enthusiasts have been flocking to the country for years to play year round in an ideal climate - Portugal boasts the greatest number of sunshine hours of any country in Europe.
This tourism potential has been explored by the golf sector but remains very much in its infancy when it comes to horse-riding, although heavy investment is starting to be injected into this new market.
Miguel Catalão of Xavier de Lima Group, which is the developer behind a new equestrian project in Portugal’s Alentejo region, said, “In the UK alone there are 900,000 golfers and around 2.4 million people who ride on a weekly basis.
“Anyone coming to Portugal to play golf spends on average £135 a day.
“In the equestrian sector this spending shoots up to around £226 when you consider all the expenses inherent to horse-riding,” he added.
The Xavier de Lima Group, which is creating Herdade Dona Maria, a £226 million project to transform countryside near Cabeço de Vide into a 550 hectare country estate targeted at equestrian sports lovers.
The new development is only eight kilometres from Coudelaria de Alter-do-Chão (formerly Coudelaria Real - The Royal Stud Farm), founded in the reign of King Dom João V.
“Xavier Lima is the most important Lusitanian breeder in Portugal and one of the best in the world – having around 900 horses,” says Miguel Catalão of The Xavier de Lima Group.
“The new Equestrian Centre is being prepared not just for tourists but also for those who make horses and horse-riding activities their career.
“The Alentejo is a fairly dry place which is why we want to attract riders and horses from all over the world when the hunting season is over.
“This market is extremely important and worth millions,” stresses Miguel, who was part of the commission that organised the first world congress on equestrian tourism which took place in Portugal last year.
The Group is not alone - having seen the potential of the lucrative equestrian tourist market, many Portugal property developers are now targeting rising enthusiasts in the same way that golf fans have been targeted over the last few years.
In Portugal's Silver Coast region the Quintas do Óbidos Equestrian Centre and Country Club has been designed by the world’s top show jumper Jessica Kurten, and is preparing to host equestrian championships at international level.
As well as show-jumping facilities there are also a series of bridleways winding through local beauty spots and along the nearby coastline.
The development consists of luxury villas with private swimming pools and prices start at around £1.53 million.
Horses are clearly big business - in Europe alone, 4.3 million horses are registered which are directly responsible for revenues of £10.8 billion and 860,000 jobs, according to statistics released at the first Congress for Equestrian Tourism. Portugal looks set to be riding high in this new market.
For more information on Portugal properties and the market in general, please visit http://portugal.themovechannel.com/
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.
For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:
Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650
TheMoveChannel.com
Jon Moore
020 7952 7658
j.moore@themovechannel.com 
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