NEW YORK — Ever since TAP Air Portugal launched its Portugal Stopover program last year, nearly 70,000 travellers have enjoyed visits to Lisbon and Porto while en route to destinations in Portugal and beyond. Now, the popular program is expanding to include longer visits of up to five days, for no additional airfare.

TAP unveiled its stopover offer in July 2016, to encourage TAP’s long-haul customers transiting through Lisbon or Porto to stay for up to three days for no additional airfare. The longer 5-day stopover option is available for visits starting in September.

The program still incorporates a network of more than 150 partners offering exclusive hotel discounts for stopover customers, a free bottle of Portuguese wine in restaurants, and free experiences, such as tuk-tuk rides, visits to museums, or even dolphin watching in the River Sado.

“70,000 visitors have told us they love the Portugal Stopover but we kept hearing that three days wasn’t enough to truly experience Lisbon or Porto,” said Carlos Paneiro, Vice President of Sales for North and Central America. “Now with five days, visitors can enjoy a more leisurely visit to really get to know what these wonderful cities have to offer.”

Also from September, stopover passengers will be able to create a multi-destination journey, making it will be possible to travel from one destination and return from another. For example, people may choose to fly to Barcelona then return from Seville but they will still qualify for a stopover in Lisbon or Porto on the outbound or return travel. Stopover visits are now also available on one-way travel to Europe or Africa where previously round-trip travel was necessary to qualify for the program.

In February, TAP added several Portugal areas as destinations that also qualify for the stopover, including the Algarve, Madeira and the Azores. Travellers can now visit Lisbon or Porto for up to five day en route to Faro, Ponta Delgada, Terceira, Funchal and Porto Santo for no extra airfare.

TAP currently operates 2,500 flights per week to 84 destinations in 34 countries. This means that, from the USA, Canada and Brazil, TAP clients can now fly to more than 70 destinations, with a Lisbon or Porto stopover experience along the way.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the Portugal Stopover program, this week TAP unveiled one of its A330-300 aircraft with a new special Stopover-themed livery, highlighting many popular icons of a visit to Portugal. This aircraft will begin service between Portugal and North America in the weeks to come.