Portugal once again saw an increase in visitors and revenue last year. The German source market also developed very well. How the South European country now wants to focus on quality tourism as a destination.Portugal is apparently achieving what it sets out to do. In spring 2023, Secretary of State Nuno Fazenda announced that the country wanted to exceed the figures from 2022. The destination has achieved this. International visitor arrivals, revenue and overnight stays have all increased.
Portugal counted around 18.2 million international guests in 2023, which corresponds to an increase of 19.1% compared to 2022 and an increase of 11.2% compared to 2019. Portugal also saw an enormous increase in overnight stays by foreign guests: by 14.9% to 53.7 million last year. 

Growth above the market average

„It was the best year for us in tourism,“ says Carlos Abade, Director of Turismo de Portugal. „Portugal is growing enormously – even above the market average. The German market also developed excellently.“ At 13.4%, German visitor numbers are up significantly on the previous year. Compared to 2019, growth was 5.2%.
Portugal wants to grow further. However, the destination is primarily focussing on revenue. „We are very focussed on quality and want sustainable growth. We want to measure ourselves by whether we are increasing in value,“ emphasises Abade. 

The declared goal is to increase revenue by 8% – to €27 billion. This was not actually planned until 2027. „But with revenue of €25 billion, we are already very close.“

The German market plays an important role in this. Germany takes second place in the ranking of overnight stays. To further strengthen the importance of the German market, Portugal wants to increase flight activities in the future. 

Focus on wine, nature and active tourism

The destination is also planning to focus more on gastronomy, especially wine tourism, as well as nature and activity programmes in the future. To this end, the state has expanded its infrastructure and invested in new cycle routes throughout the state, for example. 
Events such as Rip Curl Pro, where the best surfers in the world compete, and the Michelin Gala, which was organised in the Algarve in February, are also attracting attention. „We have a lot of gastronomic talent that we want to showcase to the German market.“

The Azores and the centre of Portugal, for example, are also the focus of further development. „These regions are not so popular. We want to encourage tourists to travel more through the country in order to grow in a sustainable way.“ At the same time, the aim is to equalise the seasons. Portugal has more to offer than the Algarve, Lisbon and Madeira, emphasises Abade. „We want to show our guests our diversity.“

Quelle: FVW