The opinion article "The two ways to kill tourism" was written by Antonio Jorge Costa, president of IPDT – Tourism Intelligence, and originally published on the Publituris.pt website. The text addresses the importance of tourism for Portugal and the paths that can compromise its future.
The author uses the question "What if tourism ended?" as an exercise to measure the sector's magnitude. According to data from the Tourism Satellite Account by Statistics Portugal (INE), in 2024, tourism represented approximately 12% of national GDP and was the country's main exporting activity, sustaining economic activity, employment, investment, and opportunities for thousands of families.
Costa identifies two ways to weaken tourism: through simplistic discourses that ignore its benefits, or through growth without criteria, excessive pressure on resources, and an obsession with numbers at the expense of value created. The author argues that the difference does not lie in tourism itself, but in how it is managed, and that the balance between residents, visitors, businesses, and territory cannot be decreed, but must be built through informed decisions and permanent monitoring.
The real challenge for Portugal, according to the article, is not to receive more tourists at any cost nor to halt tourism, but rather to create more value per visitor, better distribute tourist flows throughout the territory and across the year, protect the unique resources of each destination, and ensure that benefits reach local communities. The author concludes that tourism will not die from an excess or lack of tourists, but on the day it forgets what it is for.
