She said that in 2017 the number of seats on planes between Portugal and Russia doubled in 2017, she said, which meant more tourists were able to come and visit Portugal.

Ms Godinho was in St Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday to receive the best European destination prize of the World Travel Awards and to promote the “Can’t skip Portugal´ promotional campaign.

Monday, Ana Mendes Godinho is participating in a meeting in Paris on the sustainable and inclusive growth tourism policies of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).