Exploring the Value of the Sea: A Study of the Blue Economy in the EU and Portugal

This paper examines the concept of the "blue economy" in the context of the European Union (EU) and Portugal, exploring the economic importance of the sea and its resources. First, it provides an overview of the EU blue economy and its contribution to the overall EU economy over the last decade. Data from the European Commission shows that coastal tourism is the most important sector both in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) and employment, with the four largest EU countries (Spain, Germany, Italy, and France) being the largest contributors to the EU blue economy. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the performance of Portuguese coastal tourism in comparison to other European coastal countries, particularly in relation to the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show that Portugal's GVA generated by the coastal tourism sector was consistently lower than the respective mean of all other European coastal countries in several years. The statistical tests confirm these results and suggest that Portugal's coastal tourism sector may need more attention and efforts to improve its economic performance.