Tourism seasonality management strategies - what can we learn from payment data

Purpose - A convenient payment system is increasingly recognized as an asset of tourism destinations. By using data on payments with cards issued in foreign countries, together with other monthly tourism flow variables, the authors assess the importance of card payments to identify seasonality in inbound tourism in Portugal. Design/methodology/approach - The authors compute seasonality measures using Portuguese data on card payments from 2003 to 2019, together with data on nights spent and the Balance of Payments travel credit. The authors also assess seasonal behaviour in the timespan of the different tourism strategic plans in place during this period. Findings - Card payments grew at a faster pace than the other inbound tourism variables and show a seasonal pattern similar to the other variables. Seasonality decreases when variables measured in quantities are considered (nights spent and number of card transactions). However, when the authors use value variables (Balance of Payments travel credit and value of card transactions), seasonality in 2019 is higher than in 2003. Research limitations/implications - The widespread use of digital payments makes card payment information an even better proxy of tourism activity and since it is available in a short time-span it has informational potential for tourism stakeholders and for researchers in this field. Originality/value - The authors study the seasonal behaviour of foreign card payments along with other international tourism flow variables. The authors' results highlight the informational potential of card payment data and the importance of electronic payment infrastructure for tourist activity.