Portugal's tourist arrivals fall in the 'strongest month for travel'

After seven years of strong growth in tourist arrivals which has benefited its economy, Portugal saw the number of foreign visitors fall 2 per cent in August, which is traditionally the strongest month for travel, official data showed on Monday.

The National Statistics Institute (INE), which monitors hotel stays, said that between January and August that number edged up 0.5 per cent to 8.6 million in a sharp slowdown from a near 12 per cent jump in the same period a year ago.

A record 12.7 million tourists visited Portugal during all of last year.

The drop in August alone, from the same month a year ago, followed a near 3 per cent fall in July.

Hotel revenues, including from domestic tourism, still rose over 7 per cent in January-August to nearly 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion), INE said. During all of last year, hotel revenues rose 17 per cent.

The average hotel stay fell almost 2 per cent to 2.8 nights. Travellers from all main European markets stayed fewer nights in Portuguese hotels, with Britain leading the trend, but a higher number of tourists from Brazil and North America spent more time in Portugal.

Tourism and all travel-related revenues account for over 10 per cent of Portugal's gross domestic product, which is expected to expand 2.3 per cent in 2018 in a slowdown from last year's 2.7 per cent rise, which marked Portugal's strongest growth since 2000.

The tourism sector is also a key source of employment and a big component of exports of services in the Atlantic coast country, which lures visitors with its sandy beaches, mediaeval castles, golf courses, and some of the lowest prices for wining and dining in western Europe.

Tourism has been growing steadily since 2011, with hundreds of new hotels and thousands of refurbished apartments for tourists opening across Portugal.