Tourist numbers in Portugal hit record in 2023

A cruise ship moored on a pier on Tagus river in Lisbon, is pictured on August 16, 2023. Foreign tourists flocked to Portugal in record numbers in 2023 welcoming 26.5 million visitors — a 19.2 percent jump compared to the year before, the country’s National Statistics Institute said on July 8, 2024. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

LISBON — Foreign tourists flocked to Portugal in record numbers in 2023 with 26.5 million visitors — a 19.2 percent jump compared to the year before, the country’s National Statistics Institute said Monday.

Derided as part of the “Club Med” nations during the European debt crisis 15 years ago, Portugal’s economy is now outperforming its northern peers thanks to a rebound in tourism.

Last year’s tourism figures in Portugal saw an increase of 7.7 percent compared to 2019 — the reference year before the Covid-19 pandemic.

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According to the institute, 5.7 million visitors were from Spain followed by Britain and France, with close to three million tourists each.

Tourism accounts for around 12 percent of gross domestic product in Portugal.

In 2023, Portugal recorded 2.3 percent economic growth, among the highest in the European Union, mainly thanks to exports.

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Growth this year is expected to be 1.5 percent, rising to 1.9 percent in 2025, according to the latest forecasts published in mid-April by the government.

The Bank of Portugal is forecasting growth of 2 percent this year and 2.3 percent in 2025.