It brought investment, revitalised cities, created jobs, projected Portugal internationally and helped transform entire sectors of the economy. But there is a less discussed reality: despite all its importance, tourism has never been able to solve one of the country's biggest structural challenges, productivity. Portugal continues to be an economy that produces less value per worker than many of the economies with which it competes, and as long as this does not change, wages will hardly keep up with the ambitions of a modern and competitive country. This is precisely where artificial intelligence can represent a historic change.

For the first time in decades, Portugal is facing an opportunity that does not depend on its geographical size, its internal market or its peripheral location. Artificial intelligence is creating a new economy in which the main resource is no longer physical proximity to markets, but the ability to generate knowledge, develop technology and operate advanced digital infrastructures. And, surprisingly for some, Portugal meets several of the conditions necessary to benefit from this transformation: universities capable of training highly qualified talent, increasingly international technology companies, recognised research centres, a growing energy capacity based on renewable sources and clear signs of attracting investment in data centres, advanced computing and digital infrastructures.

The most interesting thing is that artificial intelligence is not only creating a new economic sector, but is also transforming all existing sectors. Agriculture uses AI to optimise production, healthcare to improve diagnostics, industry to increase efficiency, energy to manage complex networks, real estate to analyse markets, banking to reduce risk, and logistics to optimise operations. This means that artificial intelligence can increase the productivity of the entire Portuguese economy, and not just a limited set of technology companies.

Of course, there are risks. Some jobs will change, others will disappear, and new skills will be needed. But economic history shows that countries that embrace major technological transformations tend to create more wealth than those that resist them. Perhaps that is why the real question is not whether artificial intelligence will transform Portugal, but whether Portugal will be able to position itself among those who develop the technology or among those who just consume it.

In recent months, we have seen announcements of new technology centres, investments in computing, projects related to data centres, and specialised training initiatives. These are important signs: they show that the country is beginning to be seen as more than a tourist destination or a peripheral market and that there is potential to participate in one of the greatest economic transformations of the century.

Tourism will continue to be fundamental for Portugal. But it will hardly be able to raise national productivity on its own, retain highly skilled talent, or create a knowledge-based economy on the scale needed. Artificial intelligence can — and perhaps this is the most important opportunity that Portugal has ahead of it. Because the future will not be built only by those who receive visitors, but by those who create value through knowledge. And, for the first time in a long time, Portugal is able to do just that.