Hotel establishments in Portugal welcomed a total of 17.4 million guests in 2015, up by 8.6 percent from the previous year, Statistics Portugal announced this week.

Portuguese newspaper Económico added that the official preliminary data showed 2015 was the best-ever year for the country’s tourism sector.

According to the statistics bureau, the industry registered last year a total of 48.9 million overnight stays, up by 6.7 percent from a year earlier. “Non-resident guests” (i.e. those not entitled to live in Portugal) accounted for the majority of those overnight stays: 34.4 million, up by 7.3 percent year-on-year.

The number of overnight stays by “residents” (i.e. those entitled to live in Portugal) also increased – by 5.3 percent – in 2015, to 14.5 million, the bureau added in a statement.

Statistics Portugal also said there was a 13.1-percent increase in hotels’ total revenues.