By ELOISE WALTON [email protected]
Former president of the regional tourism board (ERTA) António Pina and Portimão Câmara President Manuel da Luz were both awarded silver medals at the official World Tourism Day celebrations in recognition of their work within the sector.
The awards ceremony was held in Guimarães, northern Portugal, on September 27 and was attended by the minister of the economy, Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, the secretary of state for tourism, Bernardo Trindade, and the president of the national tourism board Luís Patrão.
Nuno Aires, the current President of the ERTA, congratulated his predecessor António Pina for the medal that he was awarded in recognition of his work to promote the Algarve region as a top tourism destination.
“The Algarve is pleased at the recognition of two Algarvean personalities who were active within the region’s tourism sector in the last year,” said Nuno Aires.
According to the national tourism board, Portimão council has also been working to make itself one of the Algarve’s main tourist attractions by diversifying its offer, hosting international events and renewing its infrastructures.
In a statement sent to the Algarve Resident, the national tourism board said: “Manuel da Luz has been Câmara president since 2000 and is one of the people responsible for the increase of Portimão’s popularity in the last decade.”
Other entities, events and people who received silver medals at the event included the Red Bull Air Race and Guta Moura Guedes, who coordinated the contemporary art events for the Allgarve programme.
Gold medals were awarded to Mary Ann Popoff, President of the Association of Travel Organisers to Portugal in the UK, the Portuguese football league and Lisbon zoo, among others.
Meanwhile, in the Algarve, World Tourism Day was fairly low key because of the general elections that were held on the same day.
However, thousands of flowers, fans and other promotional gifts with the Algarve logo were given away to visitors at tourist information offices across the region and at Faro airport.
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