This all-embracing programme will include fifty new measures designed to produce more financial aid, increase the potential to expand business at the international level, streamline the training of employees linked to the two sectors while at the same time boosting the rate of employments.

The official document of commitment was signed in Lisbon, after which the Minister of Employment, Alvaro Santos Pereira, made a very inspirational statement saying that this day marks a change in an important sector to the country’s economic reform. He continued to say that this pledge is not a return to the past but a road to a more sustainable future.

The rescue package comes in response to the glaring need for more competitive and sustainable forces in the construction sector. The Minister added that the Portuguese Government is not going to adopt the defeatist policy of seeking bailout assistance from the outside.

The Governmental pledge to aid municipal authorities pay their debts to builders stays firm, and in order to achieve this 750 million Euros have already been contracted.

The Government is aware of the importance of the real estate and building sectors, the Minister mentioning this as well as the fact that it is necessary to consolidate public spending while helping them.

As we mentioned earlier the programme will also include various project for urban rehabilitation, internationalization and professional training within these sectors.

The Government rescue package is focused on real estate and construction because these two sectors are crucial to the recovery of growth in Portugal, they employ more than six hundred thousand people and account for 18% of GDP.

One of the measures in the rescue package programme, meant to curb unemployment, is to retrain people from other areas of work to transfer them to the construction and real estate sectors, or their ramifications.

Another of the measures also wants to provide companies in those sectors access to credit lines and EU funding.

This is the second time running that the Algarve golf region gets the top spot, ahead of Turkey and Murcia, getting forty-three percent of the votes. On the whole the Algarve was also the one to get the most awards – six in total.

This means that the Algarve also got the top awards in categories such as Best Golf Course in Portugal and Best Hotel/Resort in Portugal – the awards went to Oceanico Old Course in Vilamoura and Vale do Lobo respectively.

The award-winning Oceanico Old Course – located in the heart of Vilamoura – is one of the oldest courses in the region and is well-known all around the world. The Oceanico Golf CEO was thrilled with the news of winning the award and commented that it is testament to the hard work of the entire team that works there. It would indeed appear that many golfers continue to grace its perfectly maintained classic layout, despite the very strong competition from newer courses.

The president of the Algarve Tourism Board also commented on the new awards saying that the Algarve golf has around forty golf courses and that more than one million rounds are played on these coruses each year. That’s not a coincidence, the courses having garnered many international awards during the years and these latest ones only add to the reputation of the region.

Today’s Golfer has only been giving out the Travel Awards for two years, however the magazine reaches more than two-hundred thousand British golfers each month in total, and that is the most important tourist market for the Algarve, not necessarily the golfers – although they are important – but the UK market in general.