The president of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation (CTP) believes the sector is moving into a period of steady, sustainable expansion after several record-breaking years. with 2025 likely to depend more heavily on domestic tourists, even as international visitors drive higher revenue.
Speaking at the opening of the 50th National Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT), which began today in Macau and runs until Thursday, Francisco Calheiros described 2024 in retrospect as “another positive year for tourism” in Portugal.
“If the first few months had already pointed in that direction, the summer data confirms it. (...) We are entering a phase of more sustainable growth. There is no plateauing, far from it, but we are seeing greater stability. Something that was already expected after the enormous increases in the post-pandemic years.”
According to Portugal’s National Statistics Institute (INE), the tourism accommodation sector recorded 10.5 million guests and 28.6 million overnight stays this summer season (June, July and August), annual increases of 2.2% and 2% respectively.
“Are these increases? Yes, they are, but not on the scale we’ve seen in recent years,” Calheiros noted.
“Yet tourism continues to generate more value. As has become typical in recent years, total revenue in June, July and August reached €2.7 billion, up 7.4% compared to last summer’s peak season,” he said.
On 28 November, INE reported that tourist accommodation generated €691.2 million in revenue in October, a 7.3% year-on-year rise, with overnight stays by non-residents returning to growth after two consecutive months of decline.
INE’s rapid tourism estimates for that month showed 3.1 million guests (+3.8%) and 7.7 million overnight stays (+2.4%), generating €691.2 million in total revenue and €521.5 million in room revenue, year-on-year increases of 7.3% and 6.1%.
INE also highlighted that October’s growth in overnight stays was driven both by residents, up 6.4% to two million, and by non-residents, up 1.1% to 5.8 million after two months of decline.
These trends, consistent throughout the year, were singled out by the tourism confederation. “Let me highlight a very significant figure: overnight stays by residents rose 5.5% this summer, surpassing nine million. From this we draw two conclusions and one warning. Portuguese tourists are increasing in number, and the sector’s growth this year depends heavily on them. Overnight stays are rising more slowly than in other years, but the tourists we welcome are generating more value, they spend more and contribute to higher-quality tourism,” Calheiros stressed.
He also renewed his call to address what he considers the major obstacle to tourism growth in the country: progress on Lisbon’s new airport.
“Strategic decisions must be taken, and essential measures implemented quickly, so that tourism remains dynamic and capable of generating value across nearly every region of the country. First and foremost is the urgency of a new airport. The tourism data should give the government urgency, we need an intermediate solution before Alcochete is ready. There is still time,” he insisted.
The CTP has long argued for the rapid development of an interim facility at Montijo as a faster and cheaper stopgap ahead of the future Alcochete airport.
Source: LUSA
