A new Board of Directors for the 2025–2028 term

The members of Rota Vicentina elected, on the past 26th of May, the new Governing Bodies of the Association for the 2025–2028 term, opening a new chapter in the life of the organization. The list “Feet on the Ground“, the only candidate in the election, was elected. The inauguration of the new Board will take place on June 25th, 2025. 

This election of the new Governing Bodies is of particular importance to the life of the Association, which had Marta Cabral as President of the Board since its founding in 2012. 

In this term, Marta Cabral steps down from the Presidency and Executive Direction to take on responsibilities in the area of Strategic Relations and Innovation of the Association. 

In the General Assembly Board, only João Ministro (Proactivetur) returns as rapporteur. The Presidency is now held by José Santos (ARPTA), and the Vice Presidency is held by Luís Leote (Herdade do Touril), who was a board member in the previous term. 

Leadership of the Board of Directors now lies with Sara Serrão (Oficina da Escola e Vida na Vila), who was part of the previous Board as a member. The Vice Presidency is taken on by Ricardo Gonzalez (Luxury on Two Wheels), who also comes from the previous Board. 

The renewed Board of Directors includes Ana Pacheco (Casa da Seiceira) as 2nd Vice President and Secretary, and Irene Nunes, an individual member of Rota Vicentina, as 3rd Vice President and Secretary.

Also serving as members of the new Board are Sofia Cabecinha (Porto das Barcas), Rudolfo Muller (Monte da Choça), Ricardo Estevão (Aventuractiva), Susana Cascalheira (Retromovement House), and Tiago Rodrigues (Táctica Ocasional). 

The composition of the Fiscal Council now includes Luís Coelho (A2Z) as President, Margarida Novais (Vicentina Hotel) as Vice President, and João Coutinho (Hike Time Portugal) as rapporteur. 

The composition of the different Governing Bodies thus maintains its diversity, with business and individual representatives from both Alentejo and Algarve. 

 

The new Board ran with an Electoral Program titled “For the Sustainable Future of Nature Tourism in Southwest Portugal”, which argues that, in a world that has changed and is “changing rapidly”, the challenges we face today require new responses, closer ties with members, and a clear plan to ensure the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of this collective project.

Speech by Sara Serrão
Swearing-in Ceremony of the New Governing Bodies
June 25, 2025

Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, a new team takes over the leadership of ARV with respect — for everything Rota Vicentina represents, for all that has already been done, and for the path that lies ahead.

I want to start by paying a very special tribute to Marta, who has always combined the presidency of the Board with the executive direction — an enormous task carried out by this visionary, charismatic person with great work capacity, deeply committed to the territory, to its authenticity, and to the sustainability of our region.

Her leadership was more than inspiring: it was transformative. Under her guidance, Rota Vicentina has been consolidated as a reference project.
It is an honour for this group of people to succeed her, and it is also a great responsibility.

A huge thank you also to the team, who make this project move forward with the quality everyone recognizes.

Thanks to the partners who trust and invest in Rota Vicentina, with a special mention to the municipality of Odemira and the Regional Tourism Boards of Alentejo and Algarve.

And of course, a thank you to the members, whose networked work has made it so that this region is not only equipped with a network of walking trails, but also with a whole coordinated range of services that make this area a Nature Tourism destination.

We take over the leadership at a time of challenges.
We are living a moment that, on one hand, fills us with pride: never has our region been so sought-after by those who come here in search of authenticity, landscape, and nature.

But it is also a moment that requires lucidity from us.
We are witnessing increasing tourism pressure: many visitors arrive with the best intentions — but without awareness of the impact their presence may have on ecosystems, local communities, and the fragile balance that sustains it all.
The landscape we love, nature, and the communities are not inexhaustible resources.

Sustainability — that concept we so often repeat — must be the practice that guides our decisions, and in fact, it is no longer enough. We are at a point where we not only need to preserve but to regenerate.
Regenerate ecosystems, landscapes, towns, villages, traditions, and ways of doing. Even regenerate the way we relate to all of this — and to one another.

We need to ask:

What kind of tourism do we want?

How can we welcome visitors in a truly responsible way, that does not distort the territory but rather improves it?
In other words: beyond job opportunities, investment, and population settlement, how can tourism add quality of life?

None of this makes sense if those who live here do not benefit. Marta once said a phrase that has always stuck with me: “If it’s good to live in, it’s good to visit.” I’ve repeated that phrase countless times, especially because the lack of quality of life ends up harming tourism itself — and one example is the difficulty, even here, in accessing housing at prices people can afford, to live and work.

The new board sees enormous potential in this association: because here technical and institutional knowledge meets practical wisdom; here the entrepreneurship of those investing in tourism is combined with the awareness of those protecting the environment and local culture.

And if local challenges are already complex, we cannot ignore what is happening beyond. The world is going through turbulent times, and that has an impact everywhere.

Global instability affects tourism flows, public policies and investment priorities, and how visitors perceive safety and ethics.
It also affects the lives of those who live in this region and see prices rise, services under pressure, and sometimes culture threatened by global homogenization.

In this context, Rota Vicentina must be a beacon of coherence. We must show that it is possible to grow without destroying, to attract without distorting, to innovate without forgetting who we are.

Allow me, then, to share some of the priorities we propose for this new cycle:

– Balance and Sustainability of the Trails – Mitigate pressure on the coast and promote the inland as a tourist destination

– Improvement of the Visitor Experience – Encourage experiences that go beyond “pure and hard” walking

– Maintenance and innovation in the Trail Network

– Reduction of Seasonality

– Closer Relationship with the Members

– Development of an Active Commercial Strategy and Strengthening of Financial Sustainability

– Preservation of ARV’s Values and the Territory’s Sustainability

– Sustainable governance and professionalization; institutional representation and articulation; innovation and strategy

On this last point, I take the opportunity to share two notes: that from now on, Rota Vicentina will operate with a three-way coordination (instead of an executive direction concentrated in one person): David, Delphine, and Marta, supported on one side by the team and on the other by the Board.

And let me remind you that a year from now, this president and this vice-president — who transitioned from the previous Board and are here to ensure a complete transition in the governance of this project — will hand over to the vice-presidents.

Friends,
We take on the leadership of ARV without simple answers, but with a sense of mission, a willingness to learn, to engage in dialogue and to act.
Believing in the strength of networks, in the richness of collaborative processes, in the resilience of this territory, and in a greater good that unites us: the love for this land, for its culture and for its future.
I invite you to walk this path with us.

Thank you.