The Secretary of State for Tourism has given the green light for a tourist tax in Oporto but wants to leave other councils to decide what is best for their particular markets.
In an interview on Antena 1, Ana Mendes Godinho said there will be no great tax grab from the tourism sector in the 2018 State Budget and that anyway, the market is growing, with more than 330 approved tourism projects with 1,500 companies involved and €600 million due to be invested as Portuguese banks now are prepared to take more risks in the sector.
Godinho does not believe there are too many tourists in Lisbon but admits there may be a bubble and agrees with the proposal of the current mayor of Lisbon to limit local accommodation in some neighbourhoods.
Playing down the current Ryanair fiasco, Godinho said the government has no information as to how or whether this has affected tourism but suggested there is no significant impact, with tourists able to book alternative flights.
Ana Mendes Godinho says of the growth in tourism, "We increased by about 10% the number of tourists from January to June, and we are growing 20% in terms of tourist revenues. We are currently a case study in Europe.”
