Portuguese Tourist Office Reports Record Number of U.S. Visitors

In 2010, Portugal surpassed their best year for American travel, which was 2008. According to the Portuguese National Tourist Office, U.S. hotel guests (Portugal’s eighth-largest market) were up 12.6 percent over 2009 and American overnights (the country’s ninth-largest market) were up 9.4 percent.

Americans’ spending (the country’s eighth-largest market) was up 26 percent. The office credits exposure it received in the media including Lisbon’s portrayal on ABC-TV’s “The Bachelorette”; a J. Crew catalogue shot in Lisbon and Obidos; a Sports Illustrated feature highlighting Lisbon area beaches and sites in the magazine’s annual swimsuit issue; and other outlets.

The strong emergence of the Azores saw American travel up 26 percent. With an average of 84 euros ($112) per night, Portugal is the sixth most affordable country in Europe, according to the Hotel Price Index for the second quarter of 2010. Lisbon is the ninth least expensive city, with an average cost of 85 euros ($113) per night. In the second quarter of 2010, Portugal began to show signs of recovery, with a 1 percent rise in the average hotel room price per night.

The U.S. market grew in the first half of 2010 by 15.9 percent in terms of hotel guests and 10.5 percent in the number of overnight stays. The average stay was 2.18 nights. In the first six months of 2010, some 264,121 room nights were registered by U.S. tourists in Portuguese hotels, according to data from Turismo de Portugal. Nationally, 165,892 were in Lisbon, 28,691 in Algarve, 24,435 in Porto, 17,594 in the Centro Region, 12,711 in the Azores, 8,754 in Madeira, and 5,954 in the Alentejo.

By percentage, the Azores was the fastest growing region with American guests up 27.3 percent compared to over a year ago. Two other regions also had increases above 20 percent, including the Centro, up 25.7 percent, and Lisbon, up 24.8 percent. Then came the Alentejo, up 17.8 percent, and the Algarve, with an increase of 13.1 percent.

Nights spent by tourists from the U.S. to Centro had the strongest growth in percentage, up 26.8 percent, ahead of the Azores, up 19.3 percent; Lisbon, up 16.2 percent; and the Algarve up 6 percent. Madeira is the region where American tourists spent on average more time (4.19 nights) and the Alentejo is where they had a shorter stays (1.54 nights).