Thanks to a strong start to the year and a summer that surpassed all expectations, according to State Secretary for Tourism Ana Mendes Godinho, by the end of 2017 Portugal could have welcomed around one million more tourists than last year.
The figure was revised upwards after the National Statistics Institute (INE) reactivated its Tourism Satellite Counter, which also counts tourists in local, rural and residential accommodation.
Even with rival destinations like Turkey and Egypt on the upturn, the government and industry associations are confident the tourism sector in Portugal will keep on growing.
State Secretary Godinho said, after a first half of the year characterised by strong demand, more revenue and higher average prices, summer 2017 exceeded all hopes and the year could end with Portugal welcoming more visitors than originally anticipated.
“The INE, by reactivating its Tourism Satellite Account, started to count tourists who stayed not only in hotels but also in establishments of local, rural and residential accommodation.
“With these numbers - last year we surpassed 21 million tourists - I would conservatively forecast that we will exceed 22 million tourists this year”, she explained.
Adding fuel to the fire was Cristina Siza Vieira, head of the Portuguese Hospitality Association (AHP) who confirmed suggestions that this year key indicators will exceed pre-crisis benchmarks.
She said figures available so far “confirm the most positive expectations”; that hotels are fuller and prices being paid are higher.