Portugal Expecting Overseas Visitor Boom

Portugal is expecting a significant influx of overseas visitors this summer, according to a new report.

However, the study, released by Portugal’s Institute for Tourism Development and Planning (IPDT), provides mixed news for the country’s resorts and other tourism industries. As well as predicting an increase in the number of foreign visitors to the country, it also indicates that the number of Portuguese nationals choosing to spend their holiday in Portugal will decrease this summer. Overall the country should benefit though, said the IPDT, as the overseas visitors will compensate for the reduced domestic tourist numbers.

UK holidaymakers have long taken advantage of cheap flights to Faro for sun-soaked holidays in the country’s world-famous Algarve region, and the area looks set to benefit from the visitor boom this summer. According to the report, German, Irish and Brazilian visitors are expected to visit Portugal in particularly increased numbers this year, compared with figures for 2010.

The IPDT president, Antonio Jorge Costa, spoke of the hopes of the Portuguese tourism industry that the increased numbers of foreign visitors would compensate for any reductions in domestic tourism. In an interview with The Portuguese News – Portugal’s main English language newspaper – Mr Costa highlighted that “The [tourism] sector’s evolution will be sustained, above all, by the external market.”

Also in the news this week was the Portuguese secretary of state for tourism Bernardo Trindade, who said that golf, the arts and luxury resorts were an important part of the country’s future economic stability through tourism. Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr Trindade highlighted the investments the country has seen into those areas of the tourism industry, and said they would be well-placed to provide luxury services to tourists after the recession lifts.