Since 2018, the administration of the ports of Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo.(APDL), which manages the route, celebrates Douro Day on October 19, the date of the first navigation on this river.

In fact, on October 19, 1990, the waterway was opened along its entire length by a tourist boat arriving in Barca d’Alva.

“This is an opportunity for APDL to celebrate VND with the community through an extensive program of activities for the whole family and for a wider range of age groups,” an APDL source told news agency Lusa today.

This year the event takes place in Cais da Régua, in the Vila Real area, and the program includes baptisms under sail (on mini-cruises), tours of the Douro Museum, family games, inflatable parks, face painting and street animation.

There will also be performances by the singing group Rabelos do Douro, children’s music group Indy Trupe, Rancho Folclórica Recreativo de Godim, bass drum group Zés P’reiras, and the APDL 2023 School Awards.

When asked about the progress of the river’s tourism year, APDL said that “the navigability of the Douro continues to improve”, highlighting that it supports “river tourism at more than 20,000 visits and registers record numbers of passengers in all variants”. will exceed one million passengers in September.”

Tourists can travel the Douro on cruises that reach the same water basin, day cruises, hotel boats and pleasure boats.

In 2022, Via Navegavel do Douro carried 1,095,249 passengers, a significant increase compared to 2021 (279,151) and 2020 (226,333), years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

APDL stressed that it continues to contribute to improving the conditions of the GND by planning a number of security-related investments, in particular the expansion of a video surveillance system to monitor and control traffic, the introduction of access control to ports and piers, as well as a security and emergency plan.

On the other hand, reaffirming his commitment to the sustainability of port operations on the waterway, the manager added that he is promoting the electrification of berths to power ships, digitalization of processes and improvement of waste collection services.