LISBON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's tourism revenues grew 13.9 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, reaching 6.9 billion euros, according to the figures released Tuesday by Bank of Portugal.

In June alone, tourism revenues increased by 13.6 percent year-on-year to 1.43 billion euros.

The most significant rises in tourism receipts were recorded in March (20.3 percent), May (19.5 percent) and February (16.1 percent), which are traditionally less recorded for tourism.

"Tourist revenues in Portugal are growing 5 times more than the rate of growth in the number of visitors," said Secretary of State for Tourism Ana Mendes Godinho in a statement.

In the first half of the year, the number of visitors grew 2.6 percent to 9.6 million and overnight stays rose 0.5 percent to 25.4 million, she said.

She said the figures "show that tourism will continue to grow throughout the year," noting that the pace of revenues means that Portugal is "growing in value, managing to attract tourists who spend more."

Portugal's tourism boom has made the industry the largest employer and one of the main contributors to the country's economy.