The flight will be operated four times a week on a Boeing 757-200 aircraft, with 176 seats. With this new feature, all national airports now have a direct connection to the United States of America.

Carlos Abade, President of Turismo de Portugal, said: “this is the result of joint work between Turismo de Portugal, Turismo do Algarve and ANA – Faro Airport, which aims to make it simpler and more attractive for American tourists to travel to a region that they value so much, the Algarve.

“The introduction of this new route is also further proof of the positive results of the market approach strategy implemented by the tourism sector, with a direct impact on attracting tourists and businesses.”

For André Gomes, President of Algarve Tourism: “This is excellent news for the region and a very relevant milestone, which opens a new page of opportunities for Algarve tourism. Throughout the entire negotiation process, United Airlines has always been interested and very motivated in taking this step and being able to become a pioneer in the connection between the USA and the Algarve. In recent times, the curiosity of the North American market in relation to the Algarve has clearly grown and this new route, with such a significant number of connections, proves the full potential of our destination”.

An important step for tourism

The Association for Algarve Hotels and Tourism (AHETA), has also praised the new flights.

“Connection to the USA had been an objective of AHETA, both as an entity representing companies in the hotel sector, tourist entertainment and tourist real estate, and as a member of the board of ATA – Algarve Tourism Association”, said the association.

“This was a good example of the joint work of all players in the sector, with special emphasis on Faro Airport, Turismo de Portugal and ATA, which saw their efforts rewarded with the announcement of four weekly frequencies, via a Boeing 757-200, with 176 seats, between Faro and Newark”.

According to ANA, between January and August 2023, overnight stays by tourists from the USA in tourist accommodations in Portugal registered an increase of around 39.6%, guests increased by 41.5% and tourist revenue increased by 37.7%. The number of disembarked passengers registered an increase of 23.8% and purchases made by the number of operations on bank cards originating in the USA in the ATM network in Portugal increased by 39.0%, compared to the previous same period.

Related article - Direct flights launched from the USA to the Algarve

Author

Originally from the UK, Daisy has been living and working in Portugal for more than 20 years. She has worked in PR, marketing and journalism, and has been the editor of The Portugal News since 2019. Jornalista 7920

Daisy Sampson