Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicates that the number of guests and overnight stays in hotels saw accelerated growth in 2019, with tourists increasing by 7.3 percent and overnight stays by 4.1 percent.
Speaking to Lusa, the president of TPNP, Luís Pedro Martins, welcomed the increase in overnight stays in 2019 and highlighted the fact the British market grew 19.2 percent.
“It is very interesting to see that in 2019 the British market continued to grow 8.4 percent in the country, but in the North it grew 19.2 percent”, he said, referring that, despite the British market not being in the past one of the ‘top five markets’ for Porto and the North.
The president of TPNP also noted the 12.6 percent increase in December in relation to the same period of 2018, noting that there was also a “growth” in markets such as “Brazil, USA, Canada and Ireland”.
Luís Pedro Martins also classifies the increase in income that the region had in 2019 as “excellent”, which amounted to “600 million” while in 2018 there was a value of €500 million in income.
The average stay in Porto and the North also increased and this is news that Luís Pedro Martins also highlighted.
According to the INE, seasonality at the national level “decreased slightly” in 2019, although, as usual, the summer months (July to September) were the ones that registered the highest number of overnight stays (36.3 percent of total overnight stays, after 36 .7 percent in 2018), having concentrated 38.6 percent of overnight stays from residents (39.5 percent in 2018) and 35.3 percent of overnight stays from non-residents (35.5 percent in the previous year).
In December, total income increased 9.6 percent and reached €205.8 million, while room income increased 9.9 percent, corresponding to €141.1 million.