“If we continue at this pace, growing more than 5% per year, it is more than the annual GDP [Gross Domestic Product] growth and therefore means that tourism is making a positive contribution to GDP growth,” said Manuel Castro Almeida, speaking to journalists in Madrid at the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR).
According to Castro Almeida, the sector’s growth was around 5.4% in 2025, which means that “tourism is increasingly valuable in Portugal and still has a very large growth potential.”
“There are people who think there are too many tourists. I don’t think there are too many tourists. In one part of the country or another, in some weeks of the year, there may be too much tourism, but to say there is too much tourism is a gigantic leap. We need to grow our tourism with ever-increasing quality, to pay better salaries,” he added, underlining the importance of diversifying destinations and products.
“What we need in Portugal is to improve the level of tourism revenue, because in the end what we want is to increase the income of those who work,” said Castro Almeida.
The Minister acknowledged that maintaining the growth rate or even increasing it “depends a lot on the international scenario,” but the Government, companies and other entities must continue to do “their part” and, moreover, “Portugal is going through a good moment, it generates confidence, it generates interest in people everywhere.”
“We have to know how to take advantage of this opportunity,” said the Minister.
“The world is uncertain, there is great unease and uncertainty about the future. In the midst of this uncertainty, we have to focus on doing our job well; that’s all we have left. Whatever happens, if we do our job well, we will fulfil our obligation and stay ahead of others,” he argued.