"André Jordan was a protagonist in the development of Portuguese tourism during a second phase, emerging from the early stages of what is now the modern Portuguese sector. The statement comes from Eduardo Catroga, former Minister of Economy in one of the governments of Cavaco Silva and his former professor at university.

In this context, he contributed to increasing the value added in the sector – a vision clearly visionary of tourism, Catroga stated. It was this vision that allowed him to discover in the Algarve, more precisely in Quinta do Lago, the possibility of a different world. During those years, in the 1970s, another visionary (they say), Cupertino de Miranda, founder and owner until the nationalizations of 1975 of Banco Português do Atlântico (BPA), had a similar dream, focused on Vilamoura.

For Eduardo Catroga, it was this visionary position that served as a cornerstone for André Jordan – who passed away on February 9th at the age of 90 – to be the subject of 'replicas': his approach to tourism as a sector necessary for development, in close partnership with real estate, ended up creating a 'school' that succeeded throughout the territory. Purists say it was a 'school' that also helped to change the landscape, often for the worse. But not always – especially for those who, with those projects, could escape a life that would be much more difficult, as emphasized by a former bank administrator from Porto.

The fact is that, many years after the beginning of the career of the man who was born in what is now Ukraine (but was then Poland) in 1933, tourism is now a strategic sector for growth, for maintaining unemployment rates at socially acceptable levels, and for creating value."

Excerpt from the text of André Freitas de Sousa.