A note from the office of the secretary of state for tourism says that “Portugal has achieved for the first time world leadership in terms of quality of tourism infrastructure, according to the 2019 Tourism Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF)”.


The study, which is carried out every two years, had, in 2017, placed Portugal in 14th place in terms of global competitiveness.


Portugal is now ranked in the highest position ever, having risen eight places since 2013 (20th place) and three places since 2015 (15th place) in the WEF report which provides an in-depth analysis of tourism across more than 130 world economies.


Portugal also rose five places in natural and cultural resources (from 20th to 15th place), in air transport (from 31st to 21st place), in the rapid adoption of technologies (from 41st to 38th) and even in the prioritisation of tourism (from 14th to 12th), which reflects the strong commitment that has been given to attracting international connections and expanding tourism throughout the territory and throughout the year, according to the press release.


The index evaluates 14 items that are then used to measure the competitiveness of a country, according to the document.
Ana Mendes Godinho, the secretary of state for tourism, said that Portugal is increasingly an international reference in tourism, and this report is a key element in attracting investment.


On 14 August, Statistics Portugal showed that the main indicators of tourism activity accelerated in June, driven by domestic and foreign markets, with guests increasing 9.7 percent, overnight stays rising 5.6 percent and revenues growing 11.8 percent.


According to Statistics Portugal, in June 2019 the tourist accommodation sector registered 2.7 million guests, which provided 7.1 million overnight stays, reflected in the growth of 9.7 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively (+7.0 percent and +3.1 percent in May, in the same order).