Portugal as a tourism destination: Paths and trends

Abstract

Portugal is an important tourist destination in Europe and the world. Tourism is one of Portugal’s main socio-economic activities, with a highly satisfactory growth potential. The analysis of Portuguese tourism that is presented here spans the period 1965 to 2016. It therefore sets out the main changes in tourism in Portugal over the last 50 years. The rise in tourist demand and the growing internationalization of destinations are emphasized, highlighting the importance of air transport, event organization and promotional campaigns. In terms of tourist destination structure, this article highlights the main tourist products and their consolidation over the period, the importance of education and training of human resources to ensure the quality of products and services, and the regional differentiation of tourist activity. Lastly, it presents a summary of the main tourist planning initiatives in Portugal in the last 50 years. The results show a marked increase in tourism supply and demand in the first 16 years of the twenty-first century, an increasing improvement of amenities and diversification of markets, not to mention a planning effort, yet an asymmetrical pattern persists in the national territory.