Best of Portugal

Tourist destinations in Portugal

Among the various European countries, Portugal presents some of the exotic landscapes and its rich historical and cultural heritage has attracted tourists for years and according to the recent statistics of 2006, a whopping amount of about 12.8 million tourists visited the country. In fact, it is necessary to note that the already progressive economy of Portugal has greatly benefited from the growth of the tourism industry with tourism contributing to about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product or GDP of the nation. The principle city of Portugal, Lisbon has been esteemed to be the second city of Europe after Barcelona to be visited most frequently by the tourists. There are various factors which have contributed to this rising tourist inflow in Portugal. Portugal is flanked by the opulent Atlantic Ocean in the south and west and therefore the country presents beach locations as well as mountains and hill valleys. Therefore the geographical diversity coupled with the presence of moderate climate has enhanced tourism in Portugal.

The places which lure tourists in maximum numbers include Lisbon, the islands of Madeira and Azores, Alentejo, Greater Porto, Algarve, Porto e Norte or northern Portugal. The entire country of Portugal is sub-divided into various separate tourism regions. These include Templarios, Costa Azul, Costa do Sol, Dao-Lafoes, Douro Sul, Planicie Dourada and many others. Currently, though, it has been noticed that the growing influx of tourists have encouraged the government to develop the regions of Porto Santo island, Alentejo and Douro Valley for extensive tourism purposes. Some of the popular traditional tourist destinations in Portugal include the mountainous regions of Tras-os-Montes and Serra da Estrela, silver coast, Lisbon coast, the Portuguese green coast etc. Portugal has immensely benefited from tourism and it is estimated that in the coming years, tourism industry in Portugal will be facilitated thus positively affecting the economy of the country.