In order to understand the consumption habits in Portugal and of the Portuguese, between July and August, SIBS publishes, in partnership with Turismo de Portugal, the indicators of the activity registered in the MULTIBANCO Network, particularly with regard to payments and withdrawals, in infographic format, in a clear and factual way, and with comparisons with previous periods.
Based on data provided by SIBS Analytics, consumption in Portugal grew 12% compared to the same period last year. The 23% increase in transactions with foreign cards and eleven percent with national cards contributed to this growth. The average value for each operation was €41 for national cards and €49 for foreign cards.
Regarding consumption with foreign cards, it is worth highlighting that around 60% was made by tourists from 5 countries: France (23%), United Kingdom (13%), Spain (12%), USA (6%) and Germany ( 6%).
Regarding Portuguese holidays in Portugal, the District of Faro once again proved to be the destination of choice, with around 1/5 of operations with national cards carried out more than 50km from the place of origin being carried out in the Algarve region. SIBS Analytics even reveals that 78% of transactions carried out in the District of Faro during the months of July and August 2023 originate in 7 other Districts of Portugal: Braga, Porto (8%), Aveiro, Coimbra, Santarém, Lisboa (14%) and Setúbal.
Portuguese transactions abroad during the months of July and August grew 19% compared to the same period in 2022, with 73% of the total weight of Portuguese transactions abroad being distributed between Spain (42%), France (17%), Italy (6%), Germany (4%) and Belgium (4%).
The accommodation and leisure sectors also recorded major growth compared to the same period in 2022, twenty four percent and twenty three percent, respectively, followed by restaurants (nineteen percent) and transports (eleven percent).