Portuguese authorities are expected to reach half a million Chinese tourists annually by 2026 and to record one million overnight stays.
During a visit to Beijing for the ITB China travel trade fair, the head of the Portuguese Tourism Board, Carlos Abade, also revealed that even though Portugal saw a significant year-on-year increase in Chinese tourists during the first quarter of 2024 – up 135 percent to 57,740, figures are still below pre-pandemic levels (only 70 percent), VisaGuide.World reports.
More than 82,000 Chinese tourists visited Portugal in the first quarter of 2019, contributing to an increase of nearly 400,000 Chinese visitors in the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
At the same time, Abade hopes to match 2019’s revenue figures of $246.4 million (€224 million) by year-end.
In line with the growth forecasts for the Chinese market worldwide, we think this is possible.
Over 400,000 Chinese Tourists Visited Portugal in 2019
As the director of Sales and Marketing of Turismo de Portugal, Lídia Monteiropoints out, before the pandemic, Portugal received almost 400,000 Chinese guests, which represented only 600,000 overnight stays in tourist establishments.
Although fewer flights following China’s post-COVID-19 reopening have limited tourist numbers, Porto saw a 107 percent year-on-year increase in Chinese tourists. The Tourism Board is also active on Chinese social networks such as WeChat to promote Portuguese gastronomy, tourist attractions or celebrations.
COVID Restrictions Left China’s Outbound Tourism Still Below 2019 Figures
China, as the world’s largest source of tourists, kept its borders closed for nearly three years under the “zero case” policy of COVID-19, which was dismantled at the end of 2022.
Following this policy, those arriving in the country had to comply with a quarantine period of up to three weeks in designated facilities.
In addition, the number of international flights has decreased by up to percent compared to the period before the pandemic.
Data from the China Tourism Academy show that the lack of commercial flights abroad, and many Chinese with expired passports or without Schengen visas, means the impact of China’s reopening has yet to materialize: just 87 million Chinese traveled abroad in 2023, compared with 155 million in 2019.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, in 2023, China’s outbound tourism was still only 56 percent of pre-pandemic numbers and is not expected to fully recover until 2025, hampered by greater price sensitivity and visa complications.