Portugal is hot! More Canadians than ever are heading there - and why not? Portugal has scooped a number of coveted world travel awards including Lisbon as Europe’s Leading City Break Destination; Algarve as Europe’s Leading Beach Destination - and the whole country as Europe’s Leading Golf Destination (golf is played year round). The World Economic Forum says Portugal is the 7th most welcoming country in the world and Lisbon is right there on the top 10 list for luxury shopping. Those make a lot of reasons to visit.

And no small matter these days - the Global Peace Index says Portugal is one of the safest countries in the World. Portugal saw 15.5 million visitors in 2015 of which 155,000 were Canadians, that’s up 17 percent, and they booked 425,000 room nights (16 percent increase). Revenue from Canadians was up seven percent to €170 ($248.4) million - and all that makes Canada the 11th most important market for Portugal. Lift

Getting there is not going to cause any problems with a number of direct flights out of Toronto and Montreal, and convenient connections from Europe, notably London, Frankfort and Rome Air Canada Rouge has three flights weekly in May and June, five weekly in July and August and then back to three in September and October. Transat has a number of departures from both Toronto and Montreal running virtually all year to (at various times) Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

SATA has routes at various times from Ponta Delgardo, Lisbon, Porto Terceira to Toronto and from Montréal to Lisbon via Ponta Delgada: Lisbon to Montréal via Ponta Delgada. Check the various airline websites for details. Portugal’s International Airports include:

• Lisbon (LIS) - 10 minutes from city centre • Porto (OPO) - 15 km from city centre Faro (FAO) - 4 km from city centre • Madeira Funchal (FNC), Madeira Island - 20 km from city centre • Santa Maria (SMA) Azores, 3.2 km from Vila do Porto • Ponta Delgada (PDL) Azores  Fine food and friendly people What really makes Portugal popular is the friendliness of its people, its beautiful beaches, its Gastronomy (this is foodie paradise with 12 Michelin Star restaurants) offers great cuisine throughout the country – Portugal boasts that it has, “The best fish in the world,” and so far nobody’s arguing!

Wash them all down with International award wining red and white wines, and top off your meal with, what else, a glass or two of Port. Sunshine and surfing Sunshine 250 days of the year give you lots of time to relax on one of 278 golden sandy beaches along 850 kms of coastline or, if you prefer a bit more activity, some of the best surfing in the World at Nazaré, Peniche and Ericeira.

Hotels, restaurants and entertainment consistently offer some of the best price-quality ratios in the world, and Portugal offers  ports of call for leading cruise lines including, Carnival, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian, Celebrity, Holland America Line, MSC, Crystal Cruises. Something for everyone Culture, heritage and history abound, and Portugal is rapidly becoming a favourite choice for the MICE market and an excellent choice for long stay vacations. Affordable, accessible, culturally and gastronomically appealing, with plenty to see and do and great year round weather, Portugal has become a compelling choice for Canadian Boomers, Millennials, singles, couples and families.