Government Aims to Place Portugal Among the Top Ten Tourist Destinations in the World
The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, said today that the government aims to place Portugal among the top ten tourist destinations worldwide, surpassing Canada and Switzerland.
"Today, we are in 12th place, and our goal is to grow, improve, and create increasingly sustainable and profitable tourism. We need to generate wealth, put more money in people's pockets, and tourism plays a fundamental role," he emphasized.
Leaving a session to sign financing contracts for 37 tourism projects under the +Interior Tourism Line, Castro Almeida assured that the government aims to continue growing in this area, "moving from 12th to 10th place."
"To reach the top ten, we need to surpass Canada and Switzerland," he added.
According to the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, this World Economic Forum Tourism ranking takes into account several indicators, including the number of overnight stays, the number of people visiting the country, and the income generated.
"It's mainly at this level that we need to improve, which is to improve the income of those who work in tourism. This is the result of all this," he maintained.
According to Castro Almeida, "2024 was the best tourism year ever."
However, he said he believes that the growth recorded in the first half of 2025 compared to last year could make 2025 the "best year ever."
He also told reporters that inland tourism has the greatest potential to be explored.
"The state doesn't need to worry too much about bringing more tourists to Lisbon, Cascais, or the Algarve. We want to bring in more income, not more people, and above all, we want to fully leverage the potential that the inland region has," he said.
For the governor, there is tourism potential throughout the country, but the interior is less obvious and requires greater investment in infrastructure and equipment from the state.
"There is no need to support the construction of more hotels in Lisbon or Cascais. We need to support the development of tourism in the interior of the country," he concluded.
Source: DN Madeira
Comments
Post a Comment