ecoTours Portugal: Charming and Sustainable Tourism
We are a Portuguese Tour Operator specialized in charming Tours and Sustainable Tourism. We have offices in Porto and Lisbon and our team is made up of highly qualified and experienced people who are able to organize unique, fun and educational trips. ecoTours Portugal is a officialy licensed tour operator by Turismo de Portugal (RNAVT 2811).
In recognition to the quality of our services, in March 2009, the National Prize for "Best of Wine Tourism" in the service category was awarded to ecoTours. This competition acknowledges the wine tourism agents that stand out for the quality and excellence of their hospitality and services allied to an original and innovative approach. We are totally committed to responsible tourism and sustainable development.
We are founding members of "I'm eco-social", a project that illustrates our social and environmental involvement and responsibility; part of our revenues revert to support the less privileged children of the regions we visit and one of our priorities is to be constantly concerned in minimizing the impact of our presence at the visited regions.
The ecoTours Portugal team members are:
Vasco Melo: Responsible for ecoTours in Portugal, has a MBA and a Master degree in Tourism, from the University of Porto. Following his international professional experience in Spain and the United Kingdom, he is now proud to manage a specialized team who design and organize Tours in Portugal, charming trips allied to a service of excellence.
Helena Azevedo: Licentiate’s degree in Business Administration. Main hobbies include travelling and getting to know new cultures. She is one of the founding members of ecoTours Portugal and is also in charge of the Douro Cruises.
Patricia Alves: Licentiate’s degree in Tourism. She is interested in new cultures and traditions. Cheerful and communicative, her passion is to show what Portugal has to offer, always trying to exceed the expectations of each Client.
Luís Ortigão: Licentiate’s degree in Tourist Information. He has been a Portuguese tour guide-interpreter for over 15 years. Has a great passion for the city of Porto, his birthplace and home for over 40 years. For him, surpassing each visitor’s expectations is a permanent challenge on every ecoTours Portugal trip.
Susana Sousa: Licentiate’s degree in Marketing. What she most loves about in her job is the ongoing commitment to the tourists before, during and after each ecoTours Portugal trip, as well as the social responsibility present in all the activities promoted by ecoTours.
Renata Silva: Licentiate’s degree in Tourist Information and is also a Portuguese tour guide-interpreter. She’s fluent in English and German. She loves her profession, loves being around people and different cultures. She is entirely dedicated to attending, informing and the welfare of those who visit us on a ecoTours Portugal trip. She loves to share with "our guests" the knowledge that she has attained over the years about the culture and heritage of our country.
Raquel Almeida: Licentiate’s degree in Tourism and is also a Travel Consultant. She lived most of her childhood in the Douro Wine Region and knows the region as well as the “palms of her hands”. She loves to explain each of the Douro traditions, all of which are closely tied to the river and Port Wine. What gives her most satisfaction is, knowing that each visitor on a ecoTours Portugal trip arrives as a tourist and returns back home as a friend.
Elisabete Pinto: Licentiate’s degree in Specialized Tourist Information and a Portuguese tour guide-interpreter for ecoTours Portugal trips. She worked as an onboard attendant of the Douro River boat cruises for several years, becoming a true expert on the Douro Wine Region, a World Heritage Site classified by UNESCO.
Bárbara List: Licentiate’s degrees in Specialized Tourist Information and Germanics and also a Portuguese tour guide for Portugal Tours trips. She is communicative, cheerful and very active. She has worked in different European countries, giving her a broadened view on the diversity of cultures and mentalities around the world.
Janeta Georgieva: Born in Bulgaria, she studied at University of Varna and has been living in Portugal since 2008. She loves Portugal, especially for its beaches, mountains and unique landscapes, fascinating people, exceptional wines and cuisine. At ecoTours, she is responsible for the Bulgarian market and their interest in ecoTours Portugal trips.
Luísa Khune: Daughter of a German father and Portuguese mother, she grew up in the midst of different traditions and cultures. She spent her childhood in Germany but has been living in Portugal for over 20 years now, a country she has fallen in love with. An enthusiastic Portuguese tour guide-interpreter, happy every time she can show and share the many treasures and secrets of Portugal with her guests on a ecoTours trip.
Andrea Nosella: She was born in Italy and she studied at Padova University. Andrea lives in Portugal since 2009 and she loves its colors, the natural landscape, the beaches and the charismatic cities. She is representative for Italy.
