Number of tourists in Portugal reached a record high in 2017

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According to official data, it is contributing to the once-bailed out country’s strongest economic growth since 2000.

Tourism and all all travel-related revenues account for about 10 percent of Portugal's gross domestic product, which increased by 2.7 percent last year. The tourism sector is also a key source of employment and a significant component of exports of services.

Preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) also showed that the total income of a hotel in the country of the Atlantic coast, including domestic tourism, grew by almost 17 percent to € 3.4 billion ($ 4.20 billion).

Both the arrivals and the incomes grew at about the same high rates as in 2016.

According to the Lonely Plant travel book publishers, since 2011 tourism has been growing steadily, and hundreds of new hotels and thousands of renovated apartments for tourists opening all over Portugal, helping to move the country to one of the three most popular destinations in the world during 2018.

Portugal attracts tourists, foreigners and natives with its sandy beaches, medieval castles, golfing, and also some of the lowest prices for lunch and dinner in Western Europe.