The Dissenter

#1171 Ana Drago - Oportunidade ou Maldição: A indústria do turismo em Portugal

Nov 3, 2025
Guest
Ana Drago
Ana Drago, a researcher at the University of Coimbra with a PhD in Urban Studies, discusses her book on Portugal's tourism industry. She explores the relationship between tourism and national identity, highlighting how it can reinforce social classes and economic disparities. The conversation dives into the tourism, banking, and real estate triangle, detailing its environmental and social impact, including housing pressure and precarious jobs. Drago critiques the short-term focus of tourism policies and advocates for a more balanced economic strategy.
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INSIGHT

Tourism Shapes National Identity

  • The Estado Novo used tourism to invent and sell a sanitized national identity as an economic and propaganda tool.
  • Popular culture was packaged and commodified to appeal to foreign elites and bring in foreign currency.
INSIGHT

The Bank–Real Estate–Tourism Triangle

  • Portugal's economy shifted toward a tripod: banking, real estate and tourism, replacing industrial growth.
  • Banks financed megaprojects and luxury real-estate tied to tourism, creating fragility exposed by the 2008 crisis.
INSIGHT

Tourism Blends With Luxury Real Estate

  • Tourism and luxury real-estate became intertwined as exportable "products" to attract foreign buyers and tourists.
  • This mix created demand for high-end housing and drove foreign purchases, pressuring local housing markets.
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