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Avanti and Visit Portugal Launch Advisor Educational Campaign on Independent Travel;
Two New Customizable Itineraries, Madeira and Azores Added to Avanti’s Portugal Lineup;
Gift Card Offer for Bookings Made by May 31, 2023
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| The beautiful beaches, turquoise waters, and distinctive cliffs, caves, and rock formations attract many to the Algarve region |
| Portland, Oregon, May 1, 2023 – Wholesale FIT travel specialist Avanti Destinations and Visit Portugal have partnered to launch a campaign designed to educate travel advisors on the diversity of independent travel options throughout Portugal, including the newly-added island destinations of Madeira and the Azores and two new customizable vacations. |
| Avanti sells custom-crafted independent travel vacations exclusively through travel advisors, not directly to consumers. |
| The campaign consists of: a 50-page downloadable e-brochure “Paradise in Portugal”, available on Avanti’s travel advisor portal at https://www.flipsnack.com/779977E569B/portugal2023.html , two recorded, jointly-hosted webinars available at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/665946035882271576 and https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/365859625251977390; and a $25 gift card for advisors for each Portugal stay having a minimum land value of $2,500 booked between April 4, 2023 and May 31, 2023, with travel completed by December 31, 2023. |
| “Portugal has quickly risen in popularity recently, as awareness has grown of its history, culture, and historical influence on the world,” said Paul Barry, CEO of Avanti Destinations. “Along with its architecture , natural geography, food and wine, Portugal is now vying to become a top tier single destination in Europe. |
| “We’ve just added the islands of Madeira and the Azores to provide an even wider range of destinations for customized FIT vacations to Portugal. These two chains of volcanic islands in the north Atlantic will be especially appealing to active travel clients looking for hiking, trekking, surfing, lava tube-exploring, and whale- and dolphin-watching opportunities, as well as wonderful beaches. On the mainland, we’ve introduced two new recommended vacations and added a private tour to the Alentejo region, known for its distinctive gastronomic specialties, vineyards, and Roman ruins at Evora. Everywhere in Portugal, we highly recommend staying in pousadas – unique historic properties that were once castles, palaces, and convents, now thoroughly renovated as four- and five-star hotels,” added Barry. |
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| “We are very excited to strengthen our partnership with Avanti Destinations and to provide an excellent platform to highlight the many Portuguese destinations and tourism offers in Avanti’s portfolio, which now also includes our two archipelagos: Madeira and the Azores,” said Celina Tavares, Visit Portugal’s Director for the USA. |
| “The United States remains one of the most important markets for Portugal, with record growth in 2022, compared to 2019. Last year we welcomed 1.5 million US visitors to our destination.” |
| The new jointly-produced e-brochure contains useful information on transportation to and within Portugal, special events and festivals, wine and food, and descriptions of destinations, 45 hotels, three recommended customizable vacations (two self-drive, one rail-based), and 23 private and shared tours and excursions, many of them focused on wine and gastronomy. |
| Off-the-beaten-track destinations and familiar ones |
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| Aveiro is a picturesque town with canals and Art Nouveau buildings that Avanti offers as a private day-long excursion from Porto |
| Avanti offers hotels, tours and excursions in familiar destinations and more off-the-beaten-tourist-track ones: Lisbon and nearby Sintra, known for its fanciful Romantic architecture in cool pine forests, and the beach towns of Cascais and Estoril; Evora Obidos, a fairy-tale medieval town with encircling stone walls, cobblestone streets, and a castle (now a pousada in Avanti’s portfolio), that is an easy daytrip from Lisbon; Porto, whose entire historic core is a UNESCO World Heritage site; the Douro River Valley, renowned for its vineyards and the Port fortified wine that took the city’s name; Coimbra, home to a well-preserved medieval town center and Portugal’s oldest university; Aveiro, a picturesque town of canals and Art Nouveau buildings a short drive or rail trip from Porto; along the southern coast, the Algarve, with its majestic sculpted cliffs, turquoise waters, sandy beaches, fishing villages, and world-class golf courses; Madeira, located 580 miles west of Morocco, consists of four volcanic islands with a year-round tropical climate, lush jungles, rugged terrain, and high cliffs, and known for its namesake sweet fortified wine; the Azores, a remote archipelago of nine volcanic islands located 1,000 miles west of southern Portugal where three tectonic plates converge making it a geothermal destination with hot springs, geysers, and hot sand, the latter used to cook the signature dish of the Azores, Cozido das Furnas stew. |
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| Madeira - four volcanic islands off the coast of Morocco, known for lush jungles, rugged terrain, steep cliffs and the namesake fortified wine |
| On Madeira, Avanti offers seven hotels, seven private tours, and two shared tours by boat. The private tours highlight the stunning scenery in different parts of Madeira, including the impressive Valley of the Nuns. There is also a gourmet walking and tasting tour in Funchal, the capital. |
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| Azores – an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic with a fascinating history and plenty of opportunities for hiking, soaking in hot springs, and exploring the dramatic scenery. |
| On the Azores, Avanti offers five hotels and two small group tours, one dedicated to soaking in hot springs, the other by Jeep to see the twin lakes of Sete Cidades in an ancient crater, the Lake of Fire (Lagoa do Fogo), and waterfalls and hot springs at Caldeira Velha (another crater). |
| Madeira is less than a two-hour flight from Lisbon, the Azores less than three hours. There are also nonstop flights to Madeira from the US. These two new destinations can be added onto any longer custom itinerary featuring Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve or other Portuguese, Spanish or Moroccan towns. |
| Two new customizable vacations on the mainland |
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| Located on hills overlooking the Douro River, Porto has carefully preserved its historic town core with red-tiled roofs and intricately-painted tiled building facades |
| All Avanti suggested vacations can be customized by adding or subtracting days, destinations, activities, transportation options (private transfers, rental car, or rail), accommodations, tours and experiences. The two new Portugal vacations, one rail-based, the other self-drive: |
- Taste of Portugal – eight days/seven nights in Lisbon and Porto for food and wine enthusiasts. Includes: private gastronomic 4-hour walking tour of Lisbon; private Alentejo wines and gastronomy 8-hour tour from Lisbon with driver; private Porto walking tour; private Douro Valley 8-hour tour from Porto; shared Lisbon evening Fado show with dinner; lunch at Porto restaurant; tourist-class rail between Lisbon and Porto; private arrival and departure transfers; choice of accommodations; daily breakfast.
- Golden Portugal – seven days/six nights in Lisbon and the Algarve to combine the city and the beach. Includes: four days of car rental; private panoramic Lisbon tour with driving guide; shared dolphin-watching cruise in Ria Formosa Natural Park (Algarve); shared Lisbon evening Fado show with drink; private arrival transfer; choice of accommodation; daily breakfast.
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| Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, combines old and new in a vibrant city along the Tagus River |
| For more information on custom-crafted independent travel 365 days a year in Europe, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, or Central and South America, log onto the recently revamped advisor portal https://book.avantidestinations.com or call 1-800-422-5053 to speak with an expert travel consultant. |
| Since 1981, Avanti Destinations has been selling independent travel products and custom-crafted vacations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Central and South America exclusively through travel advisors. The Portland, Oregon-based wholesale tour operator offers a wide range of FIT components to travel advisors only, including air, rail, rental cars, hotels, sightseeing/attractions, transfers and hard-to-find experiential travel options. Avanti specializes in hand-picked, locally-owned hotels in both large and small cities and in connecting all the pieces of complex, multi-destination itineraries. The company also creates complete packages for custom groups of 15-100 passengers. For more information: https://book.avantidestinations.com. |
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