Madrid, Jan. 22, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese government expects the tourism sector to grow by between 2 and 5% this year, following the record figures of 2024, the secretary of state for tourism, Pedro Machado, said on Wednesday.
"The 30 million foreigners we had in 2024, the €27 billion in revenue we collected in 2024, we estimate could grow by around 2 to 5 % in 2025," said Pedro Machado, at the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR), considered one of the largest in the world.
Speaking to journalists, the secretary of state emphasised that Portugal is "making a very serious commitment to expanding" the international markets from which tourists visit the country and mentioned the goal of strengthening Brazil and the United States, with "new airlines that are already selling their trips in Portugal".
"Portugal doesn't have too many tourists, we do have some pressure, it's good to recognise, in some areas, which needs to be mitigated by managing and coordinating these flows. But when we look at the seven regions from north to south, when we think of the Azores and Madeira, we have the capacity to continue expanding," he defended.
For the secretary of state, it is "an urban myth" to place "direct responsibility" on tourism for the problems of access to housing in Portugal and "to say that tourist pressure is somehow threatening the growth and sustainability of the regions".
"There are regions in Portugal whose average [tourist] occupancy rate is below 50%, which means there is room to grow," he insisted, saying that the country "does need an effective housing policy", which "is happening on the part of the ministry of infrastructures", and also "to consolidate and deal well with the sustainability agenda", which includes the "distribution of tourist flows across different regions", trying, for example, to bring more visitors to the interior and mitigate the pressure on coastal areas.
With regard to Spain, where the annual edition of FITUR kicked off today, Pedro Machado said it was "a particularly important market", which generated more than 10% of Portuguese tourism revenue in 2024 and was the source of 2.8 million tourists last year.
With regard to Spain too, the aim is to grow in 2025 "and reach three million Spaniards visiting and staying in Portugal", he said, emphasising that there is already a ‘good prospect’ of achieving this figure.
Spain is already the largest source market for tourists in the North of Portugal, said the president of the Porto and North Tourism Board, Luís Pedro Martins, who also highlighted the increase in visitors from other parts of the world, such as North America or Brazil, and the record number of passengers at Porto airport last year.
"Despite this strange and difficult international context, tourism continues to bring Portugal good results," said Luís Pedro Martins.
The head of the Porto and North Tourism Board emphasised that there are once again good prospects for 2025 and, specifically in the northern region, a calendar of initiatives for this year that should attract thousands of people.
Among these initiatives, he confirmed that there is a ‘90% chance’ that the Ocean Race will pass through Porto, Matosinhos and Gaia in August.
Portugal is represented at FITUR this year by 120 companies and the seven tourism regions, as well as municipal organisations and associations, according to the Portuguese Tourist Board (Turismo de Portugal).
This Portuguese representation occupies 1,700 square metres and is the largest area ever at FITUR, which kicks off today and ends on Sunday.
FITUR expects to have the same number of visitors as in 2024, around 250,000 people, including professionals and the general public.
There are 9,500 companies present (500 more than in 2024) from 156 countries and 884 exhibitors, an increase of 10% on last year.
This is the 45th FITUR and there are a record 101 countries with official representation.
Brazil is the guest country at this year's edition.
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