Portugal welcomed 22.2 million foreign tourists in 2022, an increase of 131.4% compared to 2021 but a decrease of 9.6% compared to 2019, the reference year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics, 5.7 million visitors came from neighboring Spainthus representing the leading market in the Portuguese tourism sector, followed by France then the United Kingdom with nearly 3 million travelers each.
Tourism contributed to economic activity in Portugal to the tune of 29.2 billion euros and its weight in the national GDP rose in 2022 to 12.2%, exceeding that of 2021 (7.8%) but also that of 2019 (11.8%), again according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics. In mid-June, the Bank of Portugal revised its GDP growth forecast for this year very sharply up to 2.7% against 1.8% previously estimated. This growthrobustwill be driven in particular byexports which will continue to grow at a good pace, including tourism“, had specified the central bank.
