Portugal had the best year ever in tourism in 2019 with 27 million guests and 18.4 billion in revenue. But in November, this milestone had already been surpassed. 2022 becomes a record.
The Minister of Economy announced, this Tuesday, that Portugal has set a new record in the tourism sector. The year 2022 will have ended with a new revenue record – 20 billion euros.
Portugal had in 2019 the best year ever in tourism with 27 million guests and 18.4 billion in revenue. But by November 2022, that milestone had already been surpassed, with revenues rising to 18.6 billion euros. In the end, the results were even better. António Costa Silva told deputies that tourism revenues should reach 20 billion euros by the end of 2022.
The Minister of Economy also stressed that “the development of tourism happens in all regions of the country without exception” and therefore argues that it is necessary to “handle this sector with all prudence because it is crucial to the future of the country.
Stressing that “Portugal is one of the economies to beat in 2022,” citing two studies done by the OECD and The Economist, Costa Silva guarantees that it faces the future with confidence, not only because of its export capacity – the textile sector, which was greatly affected by the war, should have ended the year with exports worth six billion euros – the capacity to continue attracting foreign investment, namely technological development centers, such as Nokia’s, and no longer just call centers, and the fact that inflation in December was lower than the previous month. In the first half of 2022 business investment reached about 16 billion euros, “a very good behavior”, says Costa Silva, adding that the economy should not have registered a downturn in the last quarter of the year, as some economists had anticipated. It should be recalled that the Government has revised upwards its growth forecasts to 6.8%, thus matching the Bank of Portugal’s forecasts.
The Minister of Economy was keen to highlight the performance of exports, the footwear sector, which in 2022 exported about 80 million pairs of shoes to over 170 countries, with revenues of around two billion euros, and metalworking. Recalling that the Portuguese economy is often “a box of surprises,” as a result of “its resilience,” Costa Silva says that after the FDI peak reached in 2021 of 2.7 billion euros in 2022 was slightly below with 2.4 billion euros. 47 new investments were attracted and every effort is being made to have them “contracted soon,” with 19% coming from the United States, 15% from the United Kingdom, 15% from Switzerland, 15% from the Nordic Countries, and 13% from Germany. The Minister of the Economy argues that “the paradigm is changing.
But also because “something is happening in the world”, because after all the prospects of the German economy are better, the recession, if confirmed, “will be shallow” and energy prices are even at a lower level than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Still, the Economy Minister recalled that “there are major geopolitical uncertainties. China has been dormant for the last two years, which has allowed Europe to recover its reserve levels.”
Portugal is developing with Spain an unprecedented program of cross-border promotion of tourism, whose idea is to “promote local assets”, with a route of fortresses along the border, announced Costa Silva. The Minister of Economy also stressed that the goal is to have a “tourism with more and more value” and try to diversify supply and develop various types of supply such as spa tourism, health, etc., always focusing on excellence, associated with sustainability.
Source: Eco
