Tourism in Portugal finished the year 2016 by welcoming almost 11 million visitors, an increase of 13% as compared to the previous year, crossing the 10 million visitor threshold for the first time, according to the preliminary data published by Statistics Portugal.
The arrivals and all the income generated by the travel sector now make up around 10% of Portugal's GDP, after the sixth consecutive year of breaking records for the number of visitors received.
The preliminary data released by Statistics Portugal shows that almost 11 million foreign residents stayed in Portuguese hotels last year alone, this is more than the 9.7 million in 2015.
The total income generated by hotels in this Atlantic coastal country, including domestic tourism in Portugal, grew by 17%, reaching 2 900 million euros.
British tourists made up the largest group of foreign visitors to Portugal, followed by tourists from Germany, and from the neighboring country of Spain.
Tourism from both the United Kingdom and Germany increased by 9.8% with respect to last year's numbers, while the number of Spanish tourists increased by 8.2%
Portugal has opened nearly 100 hotels in the last two years, 46 this year alone, with 14 more scheduled to reopen following their renovation, according to the Portuguese Hotel Association.
