The report concludes that 33.8 percent of the Portuguese population went on some form of travel between July and September of last year, up 3.7 percent on the same period of 2014.
In total numbers, there were some 6.96 million tourism based trips, up 16.2 percent year-on-year of which 9.7 percent were international trips, up from 8.6 percent in 2014.
The INE attributed 58.6 percent, or 4.1 million trips, to the ‘leisure, recreation or holidays’ category, which was down from 59.4 percent a year earlier and offset by the rise to 33.8 percent, up from 32.1 percent in 2014, travelling to ‘visit friends or family’.
Private and free accommodation continues to account for the largest percentage of nights spent, on 59.4 percent but down by 6.3 percent year-on-year with hotels and similar boosting their market share by 4.9 percent to 22.4 percent of the nights spent.
As regards means of transport, planes provided for 7.9 percent of the total trips made, up 1.1 percent due to the rise in international travel, with the car remaining the preferred means for the vast majority of trips, 84.4 percent of the travel total.
Some 35.1 percent of trips, or 2.4 million were subject to prior reservation with the Internet accounting for 16.6 percent of trips, and 44 percent of international travel, with travel agents or similar made recourse to for 7.1 percent of trips whilst rising to 37.9 percent of international travel.
The INE added that short term travel, up to three nights, represented a majority of Portuguese tourism trips on 51.4 percent, up 20.7 percent to reach 3.6 million trips whilst long term travel, four or more nights, advanced 11.8 percent to total 3.4 million trips.