Portugal tourism forecast to grow 9% in 2025

Portugal is expected to close the year 2024 with €27Bn in tourist revenues and the prospect of 9% growth in 2025, the Secretary of State for Tourism said on Monday.

“As of today we know it is estimated that Portugal will achieve something in the region of €27Bn in (tourism) revenues by the end of 2024 and the prospect for 2025 is to grow by 9%,” said Pedro Machado (Pictured).

The Secretary of State for Tourism was speaking in Aveiro at the opening panel of a conference dedicated to Portugal’s Tourism Strategy 2035, where he declared that “Portugal does not have too many tourists” and that the forecast is (for tourism numbers) to continue to grow”.

This growth, he argued, entails challenges and risks that must be factored in, in terms of the workforce, which must be qualified, the digital transition of companies, and also the training of immigrants.

Aging, or pressure on resources, namely water, are other concerns that he pointed out.

“We also want to hear from external partners, namely the most important players,” said Pedro Machado, alluding to the process of building the 2035 Tourism Strategy, which is being developed with public and private entities in the tourism “ecosystem”.

Isabel Damasceno, who chairs the Regional Coordination and Development Commission, speaking on the panel, argued that tourism “is a fundamental asset for development and territorial cohesion”.

Regarding the funds that will be available to support the sector, Isabel Damasceno clarified that a part will be allocated to intermunicipal communities, with differentiated support whose aggregating body will be the Regional Tourism Entity.

Raul Almeida called for a more equitable distribution of tourist flows from Lisbon and Porto airports.

“We are the only region without an airport and we need to distribute these flows throughout the territory,” complained the Centre of Portugal Tourism office (Turismo Centro de Portugal) President, Raul Almeida, noting that most of the hundred municipalities in the Centre regions were located in the interior.

He said that to counter the concentration of tourism along Portugal’s costal areas the government needed to improve road and rail access, adding that there was no motorway linking the cities of Viseu and Coimbra – both historic cities with points of interest for overseas and national tourists.

Ribau Esteves, Mayor of Aveiro, the host city for the conference, referred to the growth of tourism in his municipality, “a unique destination due to culture and territorial conditions”.

In this regard, he mentioned that Aveiro’s bid to be the Portuguese Capital of Culture “is also a successful territorial marketing operation”, arguing the importance of identity, democratic values, sustainability and technology as factors of attraction.