“The North American market managed to reach a position never reached in Porto and North. It is the third market in the region and has exchanged places with Brazil”, said Luís Pedro Martins, the president of Turismo do Porto e Norte from Portugal.

In an interview with Lusa regarding the balance of the tourist summer in the North region of Portugal, the president of TPNP mentioned that the Spanish market is in first place, secondly the French market, and in third place is now the North American market, referring to the Brazilian market to fifth place, with the German market in fourth.

The justification for the change in the ranking of tourist markets in the Porto and North region relates to air connectivity through United Airlines, the third largest airline in the US and in the world, said Luís Pedro Martins.

The Brazilian market did not lose interest in the region, but the lack of air connectivity caused a drop in the arrival of Brazilian tourists, he adds.

“Not for lack of demand, but for lack of connectivity. (…) We now have fewer flights than we had in the Brazilian market, we are at a loss”.

British market

Luís Pedro Martins also highlighted the rise in the UK market, as a result of the “good behaviour” of British Airways in the North region.

British Airways had an operation “like never before and it was immediately reflected in the numbers in the region”.

The president of TPNP stressed, however, that not everything is going well.

“We have some dangers. Very imminent dangers. We have the issue of war, for all the reasons, but also because it directly harms some markets. The Polish market, the Czech market, the German market, because it is close to the conflict and is a very important market for Porto and the North”, he declared.

"Another problem that the region is facing is the lack of qualified human resources, a problem that has been experienced in the past but that has worsened with the pandemic and the crisis in the tourism sector, leading to a loss of qualified people", explained Luís Pedro Martins.