Tribute to André Jordan
The man who dreamed and left his mark on Portuguese tourism
Remembering remarkable minds and writing about them is not always an easy task. Because words become scarce, as do pages, when, in fact, there would be so much more to say. In this edition of V&G , an edition dedicated to the Portuguese Rivieras, we wanted to remember the admirable André Jordan – the man who created Quinta do Lago, Vilamoura and Belas Clube de Campo, while so many other challenges lay ahead of him throughout his life.
This is the man who transformed tourism in Portugal. The man was born in Poland (in 1933), lived in Brazil (where his family sought refuge in 1940, after Nazi persecution in Europe) and devoted much of his time to Portugal (he came here in 1970). He died last February, at the age of 90.
The businessman dedicated much of his time to real estate and tourism. He spent much of his life in Portugal, where two of his four children were born (he was married four times) and where his grandchildren were born.
André Jordan, also known as the King of Portuguese Tourism , dreamed of a high-quality resort that would reflect a unique lifestyle. He dreamed and made it happen. This is how Quinta do Lago came into being in 1971, which he sold in the late 1980s to pursue another project – the Belas Clube de Campo. Along the way, he returned to the Algarve as a businessman, more precisely to Vilamoura (in 1995), to develop the Vilamoura XXI project, a destination where one of the streets became known as Avenida Comendador André Jordan.
André Jordan, the man who transformed tourism in Portugal
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