ATOP/Portugal Media Awards
 Antonio SantanaCarlos, the Portuguese Ambassador to the UK, with Mary Anne Popoff, President of ATOP, and Bob Maddams of The Observer 
Patricia Ramos of Pousadas de Portugal, with Charlotte Swift [who accepted the award on behalf of her colleague Michael Raffael who sadly could not be with us on the night] and Mary Anne Popoff, President of ATOP
Portugal Announces the Winners of Fourth ATOP/Portugal Media AwardsThis week, the Portuguese Ambassador to the UK, Antonio SantanaCarlos, hosted the fourth annual ATOP/Portugal Media Awards at a prestigious ceremony held at the Portuguese Embassy in London, attended by an exclusive guest-list of travel journalists and tour operators to Portugal. The awards, which were nominated by ATOP (Association of Travel Organisers to Portugal) and representatives from the Portuguese National Tourist Office, recognise and celebrate the hard work of the media in the promotion of Portugal throughout 2008. The winners of the five categories are: Best Newspaper Article - The Observer, Bob Maddams
Best Travel Trade Article - Luxury Travel, Mike Fletcher
Best Consumer Travel Article - Food & Travel, Michael Raffael
Best Sports & Adventure Article (category of the year) - Sunday Times, Stephen Bleach
Travel Writer of the Year 2008 - The Observer, Bob Maddams Mary Anne Popoff, President of ATOP, said: "I would like to congratulate all the winners and thank the nominees for writing such excellent articles about Portugal, helping to promote this beautiful country." This year, the award winners received prizes sponsored by Pousadas de Portugal, TAP and Grupo SATA flights. Our Travel Writer of the Year 2008 award was won by Bob Maddams of The Observer. See Bob's blog entry: A few days in the Algarve leads to award-winning article -ENDS- If you would like any more information on ATOP or the winners as listed above - please contact: Veronica Rossini, Miniushka Mujtaba or Alice Mayor
Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster:
blportugaltourism@bisslancaster.com
Tel: 020 7467 9200 Notes to editors ATOP, Association of Travel Organisers to Portugal
The Association of Travel Organisers to Portugal (ATOP) is a non-political organisation established in 2003 as a UK-based forum for travel operators, travel agents and airlines who share the common objective of boosting visitor numbers to Portugal. The Association works closely with the Portuguese National Tourist Office to: - Promote Portugal's rich diversity.
- Simplify the process of booking holidays to Portugal.
- Enable industry partners to make contacts and develop vital business relationships. ATOP members are experts on travel arrangements and holidays to Portugal, and meet regularly to exchange ideas, discuss the marketplace, and work together to promote Portugal to UK holidaymakers. The ATOP UK website www.discoverportugal.org.uk is accessible to the general public and travel agents. It is an excellent general information resource on special offers and regional information about visiting Portugal, as well as providing product information on each ATOP operator with links to their websites. Pousadas de Portugal
The state owned Portugal Pousadas Group began in the 1940's when the first regional Pousada was created. These beautiful hotels, often in superb locations, offer the visitor a sense of history, culture, tradition as well as regional hospitality and cuisine. The concept of the group is the restoration of the national architectural heritage, in order to guarantee its preservation, and to increase the supply of first class accommodation. There are now over 40 hotels located throughout mainland Portugal, two in the Azores and one in Brazil. They are located in some of the most beautiful areas offering a rich variety of choice and include historic castles, former monasteries, palaces and convents.
www.pousadasofportugal.com TAP
TAP is a Portuguese airline market leader, which celebrated its 60th anniversary on March 14th of 2005; the date on which it also became part of the Star Alliance, the largest global alliance of airlines in the world. With its Hub in Lisbon - a privileged access platform to Europe - at the crossroads with other Continents, the Company currently flies to 58 destinations, throughout 27 countries in Africa and North and South America; a region in which TAP stands out as being the leading operational European transportation company to Brazil. Grupo SATA
Sixty years of flying across the Atlantic Ocean, and sixty-seven years of history, have shaped the Grupo SATA. Over these years, and particularly in the last decade, the Grupo SATA has grown steadily, and with increasing success. Grupo SATA's mission is to bring the world to the Azores and the Azores to the world, with a fleet of 13 aircraft. SATA Air Açores is an airline based in Ponta Delgada in the Azores. It operates scheduled passenger, cargo and mail services around the Azores. It provides its own maintenance and handling services and manages 4 regional airports. Its main base is at João Paulo II Airport, Ponta Delgada. Today the company plays a major role in providing accessibility for those who live on the islands – in addition, becoming an invaluable ally for the growth and development of tourist activity in the Azores.
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