Tourists from China who travel to Portugal are fewer than those from Angola, Brazil or Russia but are the ones who spend the most, indicate data from Global Blue, a financial company that also operates in the VAT refund business.

Chinese tourists are gaining more prominence in domestic tourism, especially the luxury segment, and all signs indicate that this growth will continue. Figures for the first nine months of the year show that they spend an average of 1,242 euros per purchase, nearly double the amount recorded in the same period last year.

Global Blue’s figures refer to tourists eligible for tax-free purchases, i.e. people who reside in countries outside the European Union.

“It is expectable that the Chinese, who account for 14 percent of the total, are increasingly more influential. In three years they may become the second-ranking nationality, overtaking Brazil, which currently accounts for 24 percent,” Pedro Frutuoso of Global Blue Portugal told the information website Dinheiro Vivo.

Angolans continue to take up the largest share of this market in Portugal (54 percent), spending an average of 389 euros per purchase, slightly off last year’s figure of 402 euros. (macauhub)