‘stable’ future for portugal?

Tourism in Portugal is set to soar over the next seven years, argues one expert…

Luis Patrao, president of the Portuguese Tourist Board, has predicted a ‘stable future’ for the incoming tourist industry, with a yearly increase forecast of 5.8 per cent more visitors and 9.2 per cent in receipts until 2015.

Speaking at a recent conference, Mr Patrao also revealed that tourism generated 332.90 million euros for the state economy during the first quarter of 2008, with the number of hotel guests up 20.3 per cent to 1.28 million for the same period. Overnight bookings also rose 12.2 per cent to 4.8 million between January and March this year, compared with the same period in 2007.

Mr Patrao was quick to spotlight the rising cost of fuel as it started to bite into the budgets of hotels and prospective travellers alike, declaring: "The hotel prices cannot go up. Hoteliers might be struggling against the high cost of fuel but they must remain conscious of the fact that tourists are constantly paying more to travel to Portugal”.

Success for Portugal's property market has been tipped by others too. These include Sunscape properties, which last year forecast that the next seven years would see a 300 per cent rise in property prices thanks to the development of new attractions such as a new Formula One motor racing circuit, more golf courses and an international theme park.