The government of the United Kingdom discloses this Monday the set of countries included in the air corridors and to which the British citizens will be able to travel from 6 of July, without having to fulfill quarantine in the return. It is not yet known whether or not Portugal will be on that list, but the impact of a possible restriction on flights to our country can have a huge impact on the national economy: the weight of the British represented 17.8% in the balance of tourist revenues generated in the last year.
Last year, tourists from His Majesty’s lands represented 9.4 million overnight stays in Portuguese hotel spaces. The weight is more significant in the Algarve region, responsible for more than half of this value: 5.9 million overnight stays between January and December 2019, according to data from Turismo de Portugal. In these two summer months alone, revenues from British tourists in 2019 amounted to € 3.8 billion.
The summer months are synonymous with a British exodus to the Portuguese coast. In July last year, Portugal received a little more than 9 million guests from all over the world, on a list led by 1.2 million travelers from the United Kingdom. The month of August brought to Portugal 1.47 million Britons, which meant an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year.
Overnight stays by UK tourists have also increased. At the national level, 5.35 million were recorded in July 2019 and 6.45 million in August 2019, representing, respectively, monthly growths of 1.5% and 1.2%.
The Algarve is the favorite destination of the British, making up 64.1% of the total overnight stays. Highly sought after by UK tourists is also Madeira, where the British account for 17.9% of overnight stays.
For the Minister of Economy “it does not make sense” a “discrimination” from the United Kingdom in relation to Portugal. “We are continuing discussions with the British authorities in order to explain that Portugal, as a whole and part of the destinations within the country, such as the Algarve and the north of the country, are safe destinations”, said Pedro Siza Vieira.
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