Chinese tourists flocking to portugal

Photo: Aero Icarus

Chinese tourists are flocking to Portugal, according to new figures comissioned by the Secretary of State for Tourism.

Adolfo Mesquita Nunes attended the tourism fair for which the study was conducted, which took place in Shanghai earlier this month. The event saw the launch of Portugal's marketing campaign targeted at Chinese visitors, fronted by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Even before the footballing star kicked off a new initiative, though, the country has already scored a goal with Chinese visitors: the number of tourists soared 69 per cent in the first half of 2014 compared to the same six months in 2013. They also spent a total of €33 million, more than twice as much.

The findings, published by the Lusa News Agency, highlighted the ongoing relationship between Portugal and China. Indeed, visitors to the European country from China have more than trebled in the past four years. This occured even without a direct air link between the two.

Chinese visitors are becoming equally important to the country's housing market, as Portugal tries to woo high net worth individuals from Asia to its shores with the offer of residency visas. The scheme so far has seen phenomenal success, despite some accusations of corruption.