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Buoyant tourism industry

Throughout the slight fluctuations in Portugal’s economy, the country’s tourism industry has remained buoyant. Its combination of excellent climate and an abundance of good golf courses ensure that it receives a steady stream of visitors throughout the year, and a high proportion of these are repeat visitors. Over the year, Portugal receives in excess of 27 million foreign tourists. Although there is a concentration of visitors to the Algarve, Portugal is slowly awakening to the potential of each of its regions.

Golfers’ favourite

Portugal is synonymous with golf, and the country is known for the quality of its courses as well as the quantity: its challenging courses are said to be designed with real golfing aficionados in mind. This is unarguably a factor behind Portugal’s popularity, and properties near golf courses are always considered a good bet for investment. In 2006, 300,000 visitors came to Portugal for golf, and the government is taking advantage of the excellent opportunity. It plans to increase the number of courses, as well as marinas and five-star hotels, by 50%; invest €6 million in golf tournaments over the next few years; and bid for the 2008 International Golf Travel Market Exhibition, an excellent vehicle for promoting the country.

Growth factors

Portugal’s tourism industry is built on solid foundations, but there are still a number of factors suggesting new trends and the potential for further growth. For example, an increasing number of low-cost airlines are offering routes to the country, which means it is more accessible for holidaymakers and so demand increases. The availability of cheap flights to Portugal’s smaller airports also means more choice for holidaymakers, and the result has been for visitors to move away from coastal resorts in favour of alternative destinations. Different parts of the country have effectively been opened up, and there has been a movement in favour of adventure and nature tourism.

Changing trends

The growing trend for using the internet to organise holiday travel and accommodation independent of a travel agent is also having an effect on the industry - opening up the holiday rental market to individual tenants for a start - and has made established providers of tourism-related services rethink their approach. Figures also indicate that, for the number of visitors that Portugal is receiving, tourists are proportionally spending more money.

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Documents and Reports

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Documents and Reports

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