Tourism increases in November. Revenues are growing
Tourism increased in November, driven by residents. In 2019, total income increased by 7.2%, higher growth than in 2018.
Tourism continues to shine. The number of guests and overnight stays increased in November, increasing the sector’s revenues. Revenues are increasing at a higher rate than in the same period, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) released this Wednesday.
There were 1.8 million guests and 4.1 million overnight stays in November 2019, up 12.5% and 7.2%, respectively over the same period in 2018, says INE. Residents were the main drivers of the result in November, with their overnight stays growing 14.1% in the penultimate month of 2019. Non-residents’ overnight stays increased by 4.2% in November, compared to the same period in 2019.
Despite the increase in guests and overnight stays, there was a reduction in the average stay to about two nights, i.e. people stayed in the tourist accommodation less time.
Last year, Portugal attracted China’s attention, American and Canadian tourists. These markets registered significant growth, with overnight stays of Chinese guests increasing by 25.9% in November, North Americans by 20.2% and Canadians by 19.6%.
The president of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation had already flagged this behaviour in December. Francisco Calheiros said the balance of the year was good, as the country was able to recover from the loss of tourists because of Brexit, and that the results will be better than in 2018. At the time, Calheiros also highlighted the increase in tourists from countries outside the Schengen Area, namely the United States and China.
Between January and November, the number of guests grew, as well as “the number of overnight stays that increased by 3.9%, with positive contributions from both residents (+6.3%) and non-residents (+3.0%),” notes INE.
This performance led to a 10.2% increase in total income to 229.6 million euros in November. Revenues for the first 11 months of the year totalled 4,070.6 million euros, an increase of 7.2% over the same period of the previous year, a higher rate than in 2018.
