The number of guests, rounds of golf played, and passengers travelling through Faro airport broke record numbers last year.

The Algarve Tourism Board has revealed a very positive assessment of the 2023 statistics, a year in which the region recorded several tourism records that contributed to a revenue never before achieved by the sector in theregion.

Despite not breaking its 2019 overnight stays record, as reported earlier, the region did break its record for the number of guests, rounds of golf played and passengers travelling through Faro airport in 2023.

Last year’s number of guests totalled 5.13 million, exceeding the five million mark, as it did in 2019. This means that the national and international tourist demand resulted in a 1.4% growth compared to the pre-pandemic year and an even more pronounced increase of 7.7% compared to 2022.

Even without the December revenue numbers (which have not yet been determined), 2023 can already be seen as the region’s most fruitful year for tourism. From January to November, global hotel revenue exceeded €1,500 million in the Algarve, 9.5% more than the total for the 12 months of the previous year. Comparing the same 11 months of 2023 with the total for 2019, the increase in revenue is even more significant: 27%.

According to the preliminary results for national tourism in 2023, released by the National Statistics Institute this Wednesday, the Algarve reached 20.38 million overnight stays, a growth of 6.4% compared to the previous year (still at 2.5 % distance from 2019). The occupancy rate in hotel units grew to 57.8%, 7.3% above the 53.9% recorded in 2022 and above the 56.4% in 2019.

Accounting for two-thirds of the golf volume in the country, in the Algarve, 1.4 million rounds were played in 2023, constituting an all-time high for golf in Portugal.

The diversity of records for the region includes Faro Airport, the gateway for 9.64 million passengers. The Gago Coutinho Airport had never received so many passengers, marking an increase of 18% compared to 2022 and 7% compared to 2019, which was, until now, the best tourist year ever.

“The Algarve is the region par excellence for holidays and short breaks for millions of national and international citizens, who find beaches, golf, gastronomy and oenology here, and a natural heritage that extends from the sea to the mountains”, highlights André Gomes, president of Algarve Tourism.

“In our region, tourist products range from pure rest to sports activities on land, in the air and at sea. Our visitors can choose between walks along the coast, cycling in the barrocal and mountains on routes of great beauty, nautical activities, parachuting, motorcycling and motor racing at the most advanced race track in Portugal, and even the professional cycling race with the largest number of international stars held in the country. The Algarve is an unmissable treasure, and never before has this had so much expression in the number of guests, airport passengers and hotel revenue”, highlights the president of Turismo do Algarve.