"We saw that there was a gap in the market," he said. "There were no companies like us that are committed to a bespoke product."

Based in Fall River, Massachusetts, Sagres Vacations creates custom trips tailored to clients’ interests, which range from visiting Portugal to buy a home or conduct business, to corporate retreats and themed tours.

"More than luxury, we are destination specialists. For us, luxury is more about exclusivity and authenticity," said Marco Fernandes.

This year, the company is developing an itinerary dedicated to fado in Lisbon and in 2025 plans to launch "A Portuguese Movie Journey with Pedro Carmo," a program with the Portuguese actor that will feature locations from films such as "Night Train to Lisbon" and the upcoming "Fast X."

"Selling Portugal is not just about travel, it's not just about leisure," he said. "It's about selling the destination and people who come here love it and then they come back, they tell their families and they want to come back."

To address the opportunity in California, Sagres Vacations is organizing events with agents interested in learning about Portugal and developing strategic partnerships, similar to what it has done in New York with the O Valor do Tempo group, which owns O Mundo Fantástico da Sardinha Portuguesa.

"We try to do experiential events and we want to start doing that here," he said. The first one is expected to take place in late 2024.

Marco Fernandes said that one of the factors driving more interest from the West Coast has been the addition of TAP's direct flights between San Francisco and Lisbon, and that adding Los Angeles as a departure city would also be beneficial. About 90% of his clients are from the United States.

"What is growing the most right now is the bespoke programs and also the niche of organizations that want to do team building," he said. "We have wine clubs that are doing an itinerary with us to the Douro and Alentejo. We have country clubs that are doing golf trips to the Azores and the Algarve."

Another factor is the perception of safety in Portugal, at a time when the wars in Ukraine and Gaza are complicating geopolitics. "When these things happen in the world, Portugal stands out as a safe destination," the vice president said.

There is also a growing appreciation for Portuguese hospitality and the ease of communication in English. "I think that has helped a lot to grow," Marco Fernandes said. "And then it's the networking: People come back and they talk about Portugal."

With 35 employees in three offices, including one in Barcelona (the company also organizes trips to Spain), Sagres Vacations is increasingly focusing on travel to the interior of Portugal, given the saturation of Lisbon and Porto.

He believes that while Portugal is very much in vogue and that could change in the future, the country's qualities as a tourism and investment destination will continue to be recognized.

"It will come down a little bit in terms of trendiness for a certain percentage of clients, but for people who are looking for safety, cost of living, weather, food, wine and family, no," he said.

"It can go from position two to five, but it will not go any further than that because it's always a very appealing market," he said. "It's out of the way, it's not France, it's not England."

Read Also: Agriculture? Less environmental impact if using "scientific knowledge" (Portuguese version)