After a steep decline in the number of international visitors arriving to Portugal during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), 2022 recorded similar values to the pre-pandemic times. Lisbon was the most visited Portuguese region by international travelers in the same year, having received a total of 5.4 million overnight visitors. In 2023, the number of international tourists in the country was even higher. Lisbon received almost 6.5 million foreign guests. The Algarve – the Southern-most region in the European country – ranked second, with 3.7 million tourists from other nations.

Spanish visitors dominated, but the Algarve was mainly for the British International tourists in Portugal mostly originated from European countries. Spain recorded the highest number of travelers visiting Portugal in 2023, reaching the benchmark of almost 2.4 million. The United Kingdom accounted for over 2.3 million visitors to Portugal, more than half selecting the Algarve as destination. This southern region of the country received, in 2023, well over one million British tourists, who were only surpassed in number by Portuguese visitors.

Travel and tourism had an undeniable economic impact The great influx of tourists in Portugal had a considerable economic impact in the country. As of 2023, the travel and tourism sector contributed with 42 billion U. S. dollars to the gross domestic product of Portugal, which surpasses 2019 values. In terms of sales revenue, the sector presents a rising tendency. The year 2019 registered 28 billion euros in sales revenue, which were topped in 2022. During this year, almost 34 billion euros were generated in sales of tourism services.

Portugal experienced a recovery of over 30 percent in the total travel and tourism contribution to its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, after a strong drop due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior to this crisis, this sector represented over 40 billion U.S. dollars of the Portuguese economy. By 2024, more than 58 billion U.S. dollars were forecasted as contribution to the country's GDP.

Tourism spending in Portugal

In 2022, Portugal's tourism services generated a sales revenue close to 33 billion euros, signalizing the start of the recovery for this sector. Furthermore, inbound tourism expenditures in the Iberian country for the same year reached 21 billion euros, representing a increase of 28.3 percent from the previous year. In 2021, despite an increase in expenditure and revenue, the contribution of visitor spending to the Portuguese exports of services remained at a similar level than in 2020.

How many travelers make their way to Portugal each year?

In 2022, Portugal witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of international overnight visitors, with the figure reaching nearly 47 million – only around 2.5 million less than in 2019. The recovery of the Portuguese tourism sector from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can also be seen in monthly development. While in 2020 and 2021, the usual influx of foreign guests in Portuguese accommodation establishments during the summer season was affected by the global health crisis, the country saw a return to normality in 2022 with August reaching the annual peak of 1.96 million travelers.

Key information about Portugal Visitor Arrivals

• Portugal Visitor Arrivals recorded 4,208,000 person in Dec 2020, compared with 17,283,000 person in the previous year
• Portugal Visitor Arrivals data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1995 to Dec 2020
• The data reached an all-time high of 17,283,000 person in Dec 2019 and a record low of 4,208,000 person in Dec 2020

More than 30.8 million arrivals were recorded at accommodation establishments in Portugal in 2023. This figure surpassed the pre-pandemic values of 2019 and was the highest ever recorded.Tourism development in Portugal The tourism industry makes a significant contribution to Portugal’s economy. As the country came out of recession and tourism began to increase, the Portuguese government launched a ten-year plan to boost the number of overnight stays by 2027. Although figures showed a positive trend in both international and domestic tourism annually, there were still challenges that needed to be surpassed. For instance, arrivals from the United Kingdom, Portugal’s main travel market before Brexit, slowed down due to this political event, giving rise to Spain as the main tourist partner of Portugal. Portugal’s popularity From a tourism perspective, Portugal benefits from both urban and resort destinations. Tourism demand is highest in the city destinations of Lisbon and Porto, plus coastal destinations such as the Algarve and the island of Madeira. However, occupancy rates in Lisbon and Porto do not rank among the leading ten for city destinations in Europe as of 2022.

The number of guests in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon fluctuated during the period considered. In 2019, there were 8.22 million visitors in the region, whereas, in 2020, there were just 2.43 million. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of guests in Lisbon were felt in 2021 as well, when there were 3.41 guests. By 2022, the sector recuperated and achieved 7.66 million visitors staying at touristic lodgings.

The number of domestic tourists in all Portuguese regions decreased significantly in 2020 over the previous year, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2020, the Northern region of Portugal was the most visited destination by domestic tourists, with approximately 1.7 million visitors. Lisbon and the surrounding area attracted around 1.12 million domestic visitors that year. In 2020, Lisbon was the most popular destination for international tourists, although the number of inbound travelers dropped significantly due to the global health crisis.

Portugal’s touristic influx has led foreign nationals into the country, particularly from European nations. International tourists visiting Portugal, in 2023, mostly originated from Spain, numbering almost 2.379 million. In second place, the United Kingdom registered over 2.35 million visitors to Portugal, while the United States recorded more than 2.3 million travelers.

There were regional preferences for international tourists Portugal presented regional differences when it came to the countries of origin of international visitors. In the Algarve, the country’s second most visited region by foreigners, British, Spanish, and German nationals were the biggest groups of foreign tourists. The United Kingdom was accountable for over one million visitors in the region during 2022. In the autonomous region of Madeira, British travelers also dominated, with 314 thousand overnight visitors. German, French, and Polish nationals followed in the archipelago.

The travel and tourism sector showed signs of revival after the coronavirus pandemic Overnight stays by international tourists in Portugal were numbered at 46.6 million in 2022, which represented a large recovery after the years of impaired tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Despite such recuperation, this number did not yet match pre-pandemic values. However, the inbound expenditure of foreign tourists was, in 2022, the highest ever. In Portugal, non-national visitors spent over 21 million euros during that year, which meant a 13 percent increase compared to 2019.

The occupancy rate of hotels in Lisbon was at 78 percent in 2017. This figure was forecast to remain stable in 2018 and rise by one percentage point to 79 percent in 2019.

Lisbon’s hotel market performance

The hotel market in Lisbon has shown a positive performance. Forecasts across the main key performance indicators for the industry all reflected growth: The average daily rate (ADR) of Lisbon hotels was expected to rapidly increase up to 2019, as was revenue per available room (RevPar). Based on occupancy rates, Lisbon also ranks among the leading city destinations in Europe with the second-largest Portuguese city, Porto.

Tourism in Portugal

Tourism trends have changed in Portugal over the last decade. The industry makes a significant contribution to Portugal’s economy and the government launched its Strategy 2027 plan in 2017 to increase tourism over a ten-year period. International tourism in Portugal has already grown, although a dip in arrivals in 2018 was a sobering reminder that there are still challenges.

In 2024, the foreign country with the most guests in the Greater Lisbon was the United States, with over 870,000 guests. Spain was second with almost 451,000, followed by Brazil with 399,000 guests. Almost 394,000 of the guests in Greater Lisbon were French, while 327,400 were German. Portuguese guests in Greater Lisbon were more than 1.4 million.

In 2023, international tourists in Portugal spent approximately 53.9 million nights at accommodation establishments. 2021 registered an increase of 53 percent of overnight stays by inbound visitors over the previous year. In 2020, the number of overnight stays by foreign visitors in the European country had dropped to only 12.2 million due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This statistic illustrates the hotel occupancy rate in Porto from 2011 to 2019. The occupancy rate of hotels in Porto was at 76 percent in 2017. This is predicted to increase in 2018 and 2019. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal after the capital Lisbon. As a tourist destination, the city has been growing in popularity. In 2017 Porto was voted by travelers and tourism experts as the best European destination to visit, after already receiving the title twice before in 2012 and 2014.In the Portuguese hotel market, Porto has seen a rapid rate of growth and is predicted to catch up with Lisbon in terms of performance. Occupancy rates of hotels in Porto for example have been increasing since 2012 and are now on par with occupancy levels in Lisbon. The average daily rate (ADR) of hotels in Porto has also rapidly increased and is forecast to reach 106 euros in 2019. Naturally hotel revenues are expected to follow suit, with revenue per available room (RevPar) also showing signs of growth.Occupancy rates, ADR and RevPar are three of the most importance performance indicator for the hotel industry. Hotel occupancy is calculated by dividing the number of occupied rooms by the number of available rooms, times 100.

The number of visitors of the Parques de Sintra cultural complex, located in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, increased from 2005 to 2019, reaching almost 3.7 million visitors in the latter year. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors abruptly decreased to just over 730,000. By 2023, the number of visitors almost completely recuperated, reaching 3.36 million.

In 2023, there were around 1,860 hotel establishments in the continental territory of Portugal. Meanwhile, the autonomous communities of Madeira and Azores accounted for another 249 hotels that year.