Windfall from surge in tourism helps debt heavy Portugal

LISBON, Portugal — Portugal’s fragile economy is getting a tonic from tourism this year, with revenue up by more than 10 per cent through October including a 20 per cent jump in visitors from the United States.

Tourism minister Ana Mendes Godinho says the sector brought in some 11 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in the first 10 months of 2016 — about 1 billion euros more than the same period last year.

Mendes Godinho said in a statement Wednesday that the number of French visitors increased by almost 18 per cent. Only the U.S. posted a bigger increase.

Portugal’s mid-Atlantic Azores Islands posted the strongest growth, with a 30 per cent increase.

The government hopes Portugal’s economy will grow 1.2 per cent this year. Government debt is 133 per cent of GDP, one of the European Union’s highest.

Both Sandals Resorts International and the Turks and Caicos government are quashing rumours that their dispute has anything to do with unpaid taxes, and new developments suggest the two sides may …

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