“After a record year (2013), the number of tourism in 2014 impressed by their strength: we are growing more than 11%”, recently reported Economy Minister of Portugal, António Pires de Lima. According to the Minister, growth was possible thanks to visits by foreigners (about 16 million), as well as domestic tourism.
“Today Portugal is an attractive destination, is a ‘sexy’ destination for its quality,” said Pires de Lima. Proof of this is that, currently, the brand Portugal ranks 10th in Europe and the 22nd in the world in tourism sector in Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking. In the same study, the country stands out as the most sought for surfing, as well as by other topics such as beaches and gastronomy.
This economic sector just already broke all records this year. Until September, the tourism balance came to 5.5 billion euros, which means an increase of 15% over the same period of 2013, according to data released by the Bank of Portugal. For this reason, João Cotrim Figueiredo, president of Turismo de Portugal, estimates that the balance of the tourism balance at the end of this year reaches 7 billion euros, about 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
[photo credit: Frostie2006]
