According to data released by ANA, Faro International Airport recorded a 16.9% increase in passenger movements in June, compared to the same month last year, an increase of 155,000 passengers.
With regard to the accumulated values, since the beginning of the year, the movement of passengers registered an increase of 18.5%, compared to the same period of 2016, with an additional 586,000 passengers.
Half of these passengers have been from the UK (56.2%), followed by Germany (11.7%), Ireland (10.3) and the Netherlands (7.2%).
Contrary to hotel association figures showing a 55,000 drop in UK tourists, the biggest changes occurred in passengers to and from this main market, with 73,960 more movements, followed by Germany with 26,711 more and France with 17,053 more.
The Algarve reached 8 million overnight stays in the first half of the year, 600,000 more than in 2016, according to the National Statistics Institute today.
Both overnight stays of foreign tourists (9.4% to 6.65 million overnight stays) and those of Portuguese residents (1.9% to 1.31 million overnight stays) contributed to this result.
"In the first half of the year, all regions showed positive developments in the number of overnight stays. The Algarve captured 41.0% of the overnight stays of guests coming from abroad."
In the Algarve, total income was up 17.5%, to more than €360 million.
"The Algarve hotel industry is to be congratulated, as is the entire regional tourism sector, which has been reaching record highs. The main indicators are growing in line with the rest of the country and by the end of the year we hope once again to celebrate the best year of tourism ever for the Algarve and for Portuguese tourism," commented the president of the Region of Tourism of the Algarve, Desidério Silva.