Your first client in the Algarve may not speak Portuguese with you.
The region has a long established base of foreign owners running villas, restaurants, boat businesses and small hotels, and English is often the working language between them and everyone they hire. That is not a problem, but it decides how you introduce yourself.
Who you will actually be talking to
Owner operators, mostly. The person reading your message is often the person who also handles bookings, answers the phone and is behind the bar at eight. They are not a marketing department and they will not read a deck.
What that changes in a first message
Lead with what you would film and when you could come, not with what you do. Offer both languages explicitly, because they cannot tell from your name and they will not ask. Two sentences beats two paragraphs with someone who is reading on a phone between two tables.
The region is a strip, not a city
Faro and Sagres are at opposite ends of a coastline, and a client at one end will not wait for someone at the other when there is a creator twenty minutes away.
Pick a half and say so
Saying you cover the Algarve reads as covering none of it in particular. Naming your base and a realistic radius does the opposite: it tells a client you will actually turn up, and it makes you the obvious choice inside that radius instead of a distant option everywhere.
| If you are based around | You can realistically serve | Do not promise |
|---|---|---|
| Faro, Olhão, Tavira | The eastern coast and the airport corridor | Same day work in Lagos or Sagres |
| Albufeira, Vilamoura | The central resorts, both directions | Anything inland at short notice |
| Lagos, Portimão | The western coast and the marinas | The Spanish border towns |
| Sagres, Costa Vicentina | The far west and the surf coast | Anything at speed, distances are real |
| Loulé, Monchique, inland | The hills, the wineries, the retreats | Beachfront work on a tight schedule |
Your months are not the region's months
In August the places you want to work with are full, short staffed and have no interest in a shoot. In February they have time, a plan for next season and a reason to talk.
That inversion is the single most useful thing to know here. Prospect when the region is quiet, film when it is empty or filling, and treat the peak weeks as time for your own material rather than client work.
Keep reading
- UGC Creators in Lisbon
- UGC Creators in Porto
- Invoicing UGC Work in Portugal: IVA and Withholding
- UGC for Tourism and Hospitality in Portugal
- The complete UGC guide for Portugal
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need to speak English to work in the Algarve?
It helps a great deal. A large share of owner operators here work in English, and offering both languages in your first message removes a question before it is asked.
Should I say I cover the whole Algarve?
No. Name your base and a radius you will genuinely travel. It costs you distant enquiries you would have lost anyway and wins you the ones nearby.
When is the best time to approach clients?
Outside the peak. In the quiet months they have time to plan and something to plan for, which is when a shoot gets agreed rather than postponed.