"This project is located on a five-hectare site in Óbidos, in the center of the golden triangle of surfing between Ericeira, Peniche, and Nazaré," Manuel Vasconcelos, CEO of Surfers Cove, the developer of the project, told reporters. The project is being launched with private capital (60%) and EU funds (40%).

Construction began at the end of July, and Portugal's first world-class 'surf park' is scheduled to open to the public at the end of next year. Its pool will create 25 different types of waves for all levels (from beginners to professionals) and hold over one million litres of water. This is a pioneer in the European Union in terms of Wavegarden's latest technology.

"We will incorporate our latest technological resources to give surfers the best possible experience, and it is one of the most advanced in the world in environmental terms," ​​assured Spanish Josema Odriozola, founder and CEO of Wavegarden, which has 12 active wave pools in different countries on four continents, 10 already under development, and more than 50 in the pipeline.

This infrastructure will generate up to 1,000 waves per hour, and the energy cost of the most powerful (and most expensive) wave is 10 cents, the executive revealed during the presentation, which took place at the construction site and was attended by several participants, including the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Dias.

"It's an innovative and transformative project. This facility reinforces Portugal's prestige as the European surfing capital and is funded by Compete 2030, exemplifying the effective use of European funds and the importance of public and private investment," the official emphasized.

Diversification

According to Pedro Dias, the Surf Village allows for the diversification of Portuguese tourism, complementing the ocean waves that crash against the vast Portuguese coastline with artificial waves, which can roll 365 days a year, regardless of weather conditions, and also promoting the fight against seasonality.

"This project reinforces Portugal as a top surfing destination worldwide and further highlights the country as the European 'capital' of waves," he emphasized.

An idea shared by Francisco Calheiros, president of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation, who emphasized that the sector is the "great engine" of the Portuguese economy.

"Portugal doubled the number of tourists between 2009 and 2019, and we've been breaking new records every year since 2022, after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This year will be the same, and we have to resolve some constraints, such as the need for a new airport and the privatization of TAP," he stated.

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According to Francisco Calheiros, the development of the railway, especially high-speed connections to Spain, is another key factor in further accelerating the tourism sector, which, he emphasized, has been one of the best at addressing the issue of migration.

"More than 30% of our workforce is migrant," he noted, also highlighting the contribution to the economy of the balance between exports and imports in tourism, with 28 billion euros in exports and only seven billion euros in imports.

Surfing for everyone

In addition to the artificial waves, which will "open surfing to everyone," as highlighted by Marcelo Martins, operations manager of Surf Village, which is part of a four-star tourist resort with a maximum capacity of 144 beds, distributed across 56 accommodation units, it also features a restaurant, a 58 Surf shop, skate parks, paddle tennis and beach tennis courts, a gym, a surf school, landscaped green areas, and spaces for corporate events.

Also present at the presentation were the mayors of Óbidos, Filipe Daniel, who highlighted the importance of the project for the local economy, and the president of the Portuguese Surfing Federation (FPS), Gonçalo Saldanha, who emphasized the unique training conditions provided for the development of Portuguese athletes.

The project is promoted by Menlo Capital, with executive leadership by Manuel Maria Vasconcelos and Marcelo Martins (Onda Pura Surf Center), in partnership with Despomar, Admar, and Draycott, shareholders of Noah Surf House and Hotel Areias do Seixo, and other investors, including Japanese surfer Kanoa Igarashi, a top-10 surfer in the World Surf League (WSL) and Olympic silver medalist at Tokyo 2020.