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Madeira Island recently held in Milan (Italy), an action to promote the Best Island Destination in the World, in partnership with the Tourism of Portugal and the airline easyJet, which in turn guarantees an annual direct operation between Funchal and the Italian city through the Malpensa airport.
The initiative, in charge of the Madeira Promotion Association (AP-Madeira), chose the iconic building "Terraza Martini" to gather "dozens of tourism professionals, media and digital influencers, and received all guests in a very Madeiran way", starts by highlighting this way, the note sent to the press.
At the entrance of the event, one could glimpse "some of the most beautiful Madeiran landscapes were projected on screens, setting the tone for a night of tribute to Madeira", with a decoration also allusive to the Pearl of the Atlantic, "highlighting very characteristic elements of island life, such as colourful flowers, exotic fruits and regional folklore patterns".
"To make this journey even more genuine, Madeira flavours were also brought to the Italian city", by way of a "a floating cocktail, with a menu based on traditional Madeiran products, thought up and executed by Chef Júlio Pereira, gave everyone the opportunity to delight in regional flavours", the said publication points out. "The taste of Madeira Wine connected the gastronomic moments, making the product of the historic and secular tradition of the archipelago known", it is also highlighted.
The "charm operation" was attended by several entities and individuals, among which the Ambassador of Portugal in Italy, Bernardo Futscher Pereira, the delegate of Portugal Tourism in Italy, Marcelo Rebanda, the Country Manager of easyjet Italy, Lorenzo Lagorio, as well as the Executive Director of the Madeira Promotion Association, Sara Marote.
For the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Culture and Chairman of the Madeira Promotion Association, Eduardo Jesus, this promotional action "was very important for Madeira as it reinforces our visibility in the Italian market, responsible in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, last year, for about 27 thousand guests and close to 108 thousand overnight stays". In view of these figures, it was possible to "increase the number of tourists from Italy as they constitute a positive variation of 79% and 55% in the number of guests and overnight stays, respectively, compared to 2019," said the governor.
The person responsible for the supervision of the Pearl of the Atlantic, assured that "the work will remain on the ground, as we have done to date, with great proximity to the markets, which we are monitoring, and through permanent dialogue with operators to continue to create conditions so that things continue to happen," he said.
In his turn, José Lopes, general director of easyJet in Portugal confessed to be "very happy" to have had the opportunity to inaugurate this route between Milan and Madeira, "a destination that was little known by the Italians, to which more than ten thousand passengers have already flown since December 2022, when it was inaugurated", he stressed.
He recalled that, in addition to Milan, "easyJet flies from Madeira to eight other European destinations (Berlin, Bristol, London and Manchester (England), Paris and Lyon (France), Lisbon and Porto) and also offers the Portuguese the possibility to spend holidays on the paradise island of Porto Santo, with a direct connection to Lisbon and Porto". José Lopes believes that "easyJet's operation with low-cost flights at Funchal and Porto Santo airports has contributed to the region's economic dynamism and tourism growth".
