A recent report from the National Statistics Institute (INE) of Portugal has highlighted positive tourism figures for Faro and the Algarve. The data collected by INE for the first half of the year shows a 7.9% increase in total revenues (€431.3 million total), 9.3% more guests (€2.17 million total) and 3.3% more overnight stays (8.62 million) compared to the first half of 2018.
The information released by INE also shows an increase in domestic tourism, with 12.8% more Portuguese guests visiting (592,000 in total) and 11.3% more overnight stays (1.70 million in total). Foreign tourism has also increased with 8% more visitors (1.58 million in total) and 1.5% more overnight stays (6.91 million in total)
Tourism from England has experienced a major improvement compared to the past two years, with an excellent increase of 6.8% (548,600 more guests in total) and 1.9% more overnight stays (2.64 million total). Thanks to this rise in tourism, England is now the main foreign market for overnight stays on the Algarve. Germany and the Netherlands follow close behind with 833,700 and 603,300, respectively.
The growth in domestic tourism and flights from the UK and abroad has also had a positive impact on Faro Airport. Thanks to these increases, the airport has welcomed 6.6% more passengers during this period – totalling up to 2.01 million more.
Commented on the positive results, João Fernandes, president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), said, “Tourist results for this first semester are positive, first of all because they reflect an increase in income above demand, as well as the commitment of operators, both public and private, to strengthen the Algarve as a tourist destination. Thanks to our joint work we can maintain a good performance in the UK market despite the uncertainty generated by Brexit. Equally important is the growth in key issuing markets, such as Brazil and the United States, which reflects the effectiveness of ongoing market diversification plans.”
