In 2020, the Gross Value Added generated by Tourism (GVAGT) is estimated to decrease 48.2%, compared to 2019, in nominal terms, which compares with the 4.6% reduction in the national economy GVA. Tourism Consumption in the Economic Territory (TCET) fell by 50.4%, while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by 5.4%, with an unprecedented reduction of the inbound tourism expenditure (tourism exports).
The GVAGT represented 4.6% of national GVA (8.4% in 2019), while the TCET was equivalent to 8.0% of GDP (15.3% in 2019).
The sharpest decrease in tourism, both of GVAGT and TCET compared to the Portuguese economy as a whole, reveals the particularly damaging effects on this economic activity from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applying the Integrated System of Symmetric Input-Output Tables of 2017 to the main results of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), it is estimated that the tourism activity has generated a direct and indirect contribution of 12.8 billion euro to the GDP nominal value in 2020, which corresponded to 6.3% (11.8% in 2019) of national GDP. Using the same analytical referential, it is estimated that for the rate of change, in volume, of national GDP (-7.6%), the reduction in tourism activity contributed by around ¾ of the total.