Figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) indicate that visits to property in Portugal may have been part of a region-wide rise in holidaymaker traffic this summer.
The eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull – and the resultant ash cloud, which interfered with flights – caused some fall in activity during April.
But the UNWTO has issued figures for May to August showing how visits to property in Portugal and other western European destinations exceeded the average for Europe as a whole.
Western Europe saw growth of four per cent over the period, matching central and eastern regions and exceeding the three per cent growth recorded in southern and Mediterranean areas of the continent.
Even with April included in the figures, Europe as a whole recorded growth in visits of three per cent in the months to August 2010 as part of a global increase in travel as economies recover from the recession.
