Porto and North of Portugal consolidate status as global destinations

Over 3.2 million passengers are estimated to have trips booked to Porto over the next 12 months.

On Thursday, July 9, Porto Business School unveiled the initial indicators from the Tourism Intelligence Center (CIT) – Porto and North.

This pioneering facility, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), transforms data into strategic intelligence to support decision-making and boost the tourism sector’s competitiveness.

During the session, new indices were released confirming the strong international appeal and high reputation of Porto and North as a tourist destination.

Forward-looking air booking data shows that trips for over 3.2 million passengers arriving in Porto over the next 12 months have already been booked, confirming strong anticipated demand for the destination.

The CIT also reveals that the Porto and North region records a sentiment score of 89.3 out of 100 and an average visitor rating of 9.0 out of 10. In June alone, 91.6% of the approximately 56,000 pieces of content analysed reflected positive sentiment, reinforcing the region’s reputation among visitors.

Data also shows that 114 nationalities were present in the region during São João week (June 22–28), reflecting the growing diversity of source markets.

Developed by Porto Business School in partnership with Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal and Ubiwhere, the CIT is the result of a one-million-euro investment funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

It aggregates information from multiple national and international sources and is designed to provide over 500 indicators, analytical dashboards, predictive models, and artificial intelligence tools that enable a better understanding of the present and the anticipation of future tourism trends.

“Data shows us what has happened; intelligence allows us to anticipate what comes next. That is the ambition of the Tourism Intelligence Center: to transform information into actionable knowledge that helps public entities, companies, and destination managers better understand demand trends, anticipate shifts, and make more strategic decisions.

This is how we strengthen tourism competitiveness through evidence-based management,” says Rita Marques, project coordinator for the Tourism Intelligence Center – Porto and North at Porto Business School.

During the session, collaboration agreements were also signed between Porto Business School, the Tourism Confederation of Portugal (CTP), and ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal.

These agreements strengthen the coordination among academia, public entities, the business sector, and innovation organisations to promote the use of data intelligence in tourism development and competitiveness.

The launch of the platform will be accompanied by a capacity-building session—scheduled for July 21 from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM at Porto Business School—aimed at public entities, companies, and other sector stakeholders. The session will feature practical demonstrations, use cases, and examples backed by validated data, promoting the use of the CIT as a tool to support decision-making and tourism development in the region.

Source: Porto Business School