In an interview with the Lusa agency, Bernardo Trindade said that air transport and access routes were a key factor for a country on the outer edge of Europe, and were even more important for the Autonomous Regions where tourism is making an increasing contribution to overall wealth.

World Tourism Day is being marked on Thursday in different regions in the country such as the Algarve, but the celebrations at a national level with be in Funchal, Madeira, and will be attended by the Secretary of State for Tourism and the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport, Conceição Estudante.

In his overview of the development of tourism in 2007, which is positive, with the sector seeing an upward trend with some months increasing by more than 10% in the period up to July, the Secretary of State highlighted the contribution made by the low cost airlines which bring tourists to different destinations in Portugal for low fares.

He said that the low cost companies had played a significant role in the recent development of tourism in Portugal,

For Bernardo Trindade, the existence of a world day for tourism represents a recognition of the importance of the sector in the economic context, a sector that is connected to a range of different interests and other areas which affect tourism directly, such as air transport and access routes.

He said that two and a half years ago the low cost airlines did not have a significant presence in Portugal but added that with the creation of the Fund for Attracting New Routes worth 17 million euros, it had been possible to increase the number of tourists arriving at Portuguese airports and raise the profile of some regions.

The fund enables publicity and marketing campaigns to be held in conjunction with low cost airlines in the sending markets with the aim of attracting more visitors.

In 2007, as compared with 2006, the number of tourists increased by 72% at Porto airport, 52% in Lisbon and 20% in Faro, which reflected the attention the government had paid to the low cost airlines.

And, for Bernardo Trindade, this a a successful way of bringing in tourists because consumers can plan their journeys in advance and are ready to spend more at their destinations and less on transport.

source: Algarve Observer