In September, Portuguese tourism welcomed 2.9 million guests and registered almost 7.7 million overnight stays, according to a quick estimate by the National Statistics Institute (INE). In that month, the domestic market contributed with 2.4 million overnight stays and the foreign market with 5.2 million, which represents an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2019 in terms of the domestic market, but a decrease of 3.2% in the foreign market, compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Boosting the recovery of tourist activity in Portugal was, above all, foreign tourists. Of the almost 7.7 million overnight stays recorded that month, 5.2 million were foreign tourists, which represents an increase of 70.7% compared to the same period in 2021, while national tourists contributed with 2.4 million overnight stays, (-3.1% year-on-year).

However, compared to September 2019, “overnight stays from residents increased by 10% and those from non-residents decreased by 3.2%”, signals the INE.

In terms of the type of accommodation, hotels continue to be responsible for the largest number of overnight stays (80.2% of the total in September), which represents an increase of 38% compared to the same period in the previous year and of 0.8% compared to the same period of 2019. This is followed by local accommodation establishments (13.6% of the total) and tourism in rural areas and housing (a share of 3.9%).

Algarve remains a destination of choice

INE data also reveals that all regions recorded increases in overnight stays, with the Algarve continuing to concentrate the preference of tourists (30.4%), followed by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (24.5%) and the North (16.2%).

Compared to the pre-pandemic period, only the Algarve and the Centre recorded decreases, with drops of 9.2% and 3.3% in overnight stays in September this year, compared to September 2019.