BOOKING CAR PORTUGAL

Portugal attracts many tourists each year. In 2006, the country was visited by 12,8 million tourists.[1] Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in Portugal's economy contributing with about 5% of the the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The main tourist areas are, by order of importance, the Greater Lisbon (Lisboa), the Algarve, Portuguese Islands (Ilhas Portuguesas: Madeira and Azores), Greater Porto and Northern Portugal (Porto e Norte) and Alentejo.

Lisbon is, after Barcelona, the European city attracting most tourists, with 7 million tourists sleeping in the city's hotels in 2006, the number grew 11.8% compared to previous year.[2] Lisbon in recent years surpassed the Algarve as the leading tourist region in Portugal. Porto and Northern Portugal, especially the urban areas north of Douro River, was the tourist destination which grew most (11.9%) in 2006. Today, most tourists in Portugal are British, Spanish or German, travel in low cost airliners, and are not only in search of the beach and the sun, but mostly searching culture, city breaks, gastronomy, nautical tourism or travel in business.

Tourism regions

Tourist hotspots in Portugal are Lisbon, the Algarve and Madeira, but the Portuguese government is currently developing new destinations: the Douro Valley, Porto Santo Island, and Alentejo.

Portugal has several other tourism regions such as Douro Sul, Templários, Dão-Lafões, Costa do Sol, Costa Azul, Planície Dourada, etc. Most of them are unknown to tourists and locals alike. As of 2007, these are being reorganized.

All these regions are grouped in tourism reference areas, which are widely known due to the fact that these are the traditional regions:

· Costa Verde - The Portuguese green coast comprises all the northern coast of Portugal from the estuary of the Minho River to the city of Porto.

· Costa da Prata - Silver coast. The coast of central Portugal from Porto to Lisbon.

· Costa de Lisboa - Lisbon coast. The coast of the capital city and its important suburbs.

· Montanhas - Mountainous and interior regions of northern and central Portugal, namely Serra da Estrela and Trás-os-Montes.

· Planícies - The Portuguese plane region of Alentejo in the south.

· Algarve - The southern coast of Portugal.

· Madeira - The Madeira islands.

· Açores - The Azores islands.

Algarve

Algarve voted the world's best golf destination

ATA and RTA launch campaign to mark the award

For the second time, on 8 December, the Algarve was voted the "Established Golf Destination of the Year 2006", having previously won the award in 2000. This title was awarded to the region by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), gaining preference over such destinations as Andalusia, Arizona, California, Costa Brava, Dubai, France, Valencia, Lisbon and South Africa.

The award - announced during the ceremony of the "2006 IAGTO Award Gala Dinner", which took place in Las Palmas (Spain) - was the result of a survey carried out amongst 240 golf tour operators from 38 countries, based on criteria such as customer satisfaction, the quality of the courses and accommodation facilities, the professional conduct of the suppliers, value for money and the support of the local tourist industry.

To mark the importance of winning this award, the Algarve Tourism Association (ATA) and the Algarve Tourist Board (RTA) will be launching a campaign on various specialist websites abroad and in the local media.