The president of Turismo de Portugal, Carlos Abade, set out on June 3 to reach 500,000 Chinese tourists per year and one million overnight stays by Chinese tourists in 2026, during participation of fair in China.

"In line with the growth forecasts for the Chinese market in the world, we think this is possible," he said.

Portugal received 57,740 tourists from the People's Republic of China in the first quarter 2024. This corresponds to an increase of 135% year-on-year, but represents only 70% of the levels in 2019, the last year before the covid-19 pandemic.

"It may be possible to reach the end of the year with numbers similar to those of 2019, which would be 385,000 guests, 600,000 overnight stays and 224 million euros in revenue", stated Carlos Abade.

(Source: Notícias ao Minuto, on June 3)