According to a report by Publituris, which cites data from Jetcost, the search for flights during the month of August 2023 revealed that Portugal is amongst the most sought-after destinations by both the Portuguese and Europeans, with Lisbon ranking at the top.

The most sought-after destinations for the Portuguese to spend the month of August 2023 were as follows: Lisbon, Porto, Madeira, Palma, São Miguel, Paris, Barcelona, São Miguel, Paris, Barcelona, São Paulo, Faro, Madrid, Ibiza, Malta, Cabo Verde, Roma, Alicante, Athens, Porto Santo, Terceiras, Amsterdam, Menorca, Gran Canaria, London, São Tomé, Malaga, Rio de Janeiro and Tenerife.

Jetcost says that "the recovery of tourism is a fact", noting that it is reaching record numbers higher than those of 2019, the year before the pandemic, and even those of last year when the coronavirus was overcome.

"Europeans are more eager than ever to travel this August," Jetcost data reveals, showing that travel searches in August are already 37% higher than in the same month of 2019 and 14% higher than in August last year. In addition, users spend 62% more time looking for different solutions, alternative rates and dates, to find the offer that best suits their budget.

"A good part of Europeans who decided to travel during the holidays of the month of August 2023 have Portugal as a destination, either due to the climate with the sun and the beach as the main reasons, or due to the destination's cultural wealth, the customs and the popular festivals, as well as gastronomy, in addition to the good hotels and infrastructures and the lower prices than other countries", making Portugal the third most sought after country on Jetcost to spend the August holidays, after Spain and Italy.

Another Portuguese destination that combines the attraction of a great city, with its renowned cultural and gastronomic wealth, is Porto, which is the most sought-after city by French and Spanish travellers, the second by Germans and the third by Italians, British and Dutch.

Getaways to Faro are also in high demand by those looking for sun, beach, sea, good restaurants and nightlife. Jetcost revealed that Faro was the most sought-after destination by the English and Dutch, third by the French and Germans, the fourth by the Italians and the fifth by the Spanish. Interestingly, Faro ranks ninth for the Portuguese, with other destinations being favoured.

As for the islands, Madeira was preferred by European tourists, since it is the second destination to be chosen by the Italians, in third place by the Spanish and in fourth place by the French, English, Germans and Dutch, and finally being the third most sought after by the Portuguese.

The other large island of the archipelago, Porto Santo, ranks sixth among the preferences of French, British, German and Italian tourists and seventh among Spanish and Dutch tourists. For the Portuguese it occupies the 17th place.

On the other hand, in the Azores, the island of São Miguel occupies the fourth place in terms of preference of the Spanish, the fifth of the French, British, Germans and Italians and the seventh of the Dutch, followed by Terceira, chosen in the sixth position by Spanish and Dutch and the seventh position for French, British and Italians and the ninth for Germans. São Miguel and Terceira are also very much desired by the Portuguese and occupy the number 5 and 18 positions, respectively.

The islands of Pico, Faial, Flores, Santa Maria, Corvo, São Jorge and Graciosa are also among the preferences of European tourists for the August holidays.

In addition to the Portuguese cities, the summer destinations of sun and beach, along with the capitals and large cities of the main European countries, are the destinations that occupy the best positions on the list: Palma de Mallorca (4), Paris (6), Barcelona (7), Madrid (10), Ibiza (11), Malta (12), Rome (14), Alicante (15), Athens (16), Amsterdam (19), Menorca (20), Amsterdam (16), Gran Canaria (21), London (22), Málaga (23) and Tenerife (25).

Those who opted for long-distance destinations opted for cities where Portuguese is spoken, such as São Paulo, which occupies the 8th position, Cape Verde 13th, São Tomé 22nd and Rio de Janeiro 24th.