“In April 2023, the preliminary indicator for travel and tourism points to a growth in exports of 22.5 percent compared to April 2022 (after a variation of 36.1 percent in March) and a growth in imports of 10.0 percent (after an 18.0 percent change in March)”, according to the Bank of Portugal (BdP).

According to the bank, these values show a slowdown compared to the growth observed in the first three months of the year, with this slowdown having been “influenced by the measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which were more restrictive in the first quarter of 2022 than in April 2022”.

The series presented by the BdP are preliminary values for the year-on-year rate of change, both for expenditure by foreign tourists in Portugal (also known as exports or credits), and for expenditure by residents in Portugal when travelling to other countries (also known as for imports or debits).

According to the central bank, “this information is based on a more restricted set of information, predominantly from bank cards, and does not replace the historical series of exports and imports of travel and tourism published in BPstat”.