Portugal has been named the “hottest destination of 2018” at the Virtuoso Awards which took place last week in Las Vegas, USA.
The awards are handed out every year to recognise “excellence in communications and the best in creative strategy and design”.
The accolade has been celebrated by the Secretary of State for Tourism, who said it was “great news” and proved that “Portugal is establishing itself more and more as a quality destination for tourists who spend more money”.
Ana Mendes Godinho also stressed that the award comes at an “especially important time” as the US has become the fifth biggest market for Portugal in terms of tourism revenue.
Virtuoso is a network that brings together around 15,000 tour operators and travel agents from all over the world, 9,000 of which are from the US.
Luís Araújo, president of national tourism authority Turismo de Portugal, wants the country to keep promoting itself in the US so that Americans continue to not only visit the country but consider it as a place to invest and come live.
In the first three months of 2018, Portugal welcomed 354,000 American guests, a 21.3% increased on last year.
There has also been an increase in air links between both countries operated by TAP, SATA, United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines.
michael.bruxo@algarveresident.com
