Portugal has announced its best year in tourism ever with 30 million visitors leading to record EUR 25 billion in tourism revenues in 2023.

Portuguese tourism authorities announced 2023 as their most successful year in tourism, with revenues of EUR 25 billion. According to the tourism ministry, such a figure represents a 37 pc increase compared to 2019, which had been the best tourism year until then.

In terms of year-on-year growth, tourism in Portugal marked an 18.5 pc increase in generated revenues, compared to 2022,.

The ministry says that Portugal welcomed 30 million visitors in 2023, marking a 10 pc growth compared to 2019, the pre-pandemic peak. During 2023, Portugal also recorded a total of 77 million overnight stays.

“It was indeed a very positive year for the country’s tourism, and also for Portugal as a whole, a record-breaking year, the best year in the history of tourism in Portugal,” says Nuno Fazenda, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services, referring to this as a structural change in Portugal’s tourism. He adds that Portugal’s tourism will experience further growth in 2024. 

According to the statement by the ministry, in August 2023, Portugal welcomed 3.5 million guests, who spent 10.1 million overnight stays within that month. According to INE, the Government Office for National Statistics of Portugal, such a figure led to the highest monthly revenue ever recorded, which was EUR 878.3 million, or 10.4 pc more compared to August 2022.

The statement adds that Portugal saw an increase in passenger traffic as well. INE says that national airports in Portugal registered 6.4 million passengers and handled 20,400 tonnes of freight and mail in October 2023. The number of arriving passengers at Portuguese airports exceeded 100,000 during the same month, 11.6 pc more compared to the same period in 2022. Such an influx of visitors can also be attributed to the recognition of several Portuguese destinations as top destinations in Europe in 2023.

In October last year, Passadiços do Paiva won the title of “Europe’s Leading Adventure Tourist Attraction 2023” for the sixth year in a row at the World Travel Awards. This popular tourist destination within Portugal’s Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark triumphed over four other renowned destinations, the statement adds.

Within the same month, Madeira Islands in Portugal received the award of Europe’s Leading Destination in 2023 by the World Travel Awards. In this competition, Madeira Islands triumphed over 12 other European destinations, says the ministry.