Tourism sector looks to hit new records in 2026

Portugal’s tourism sector could exceed the €30Bn in revenues from tourism for the first time for 2025.

Despite final statistics not being made available until the end of this month, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, told business daily Jornal Económico that he believed that this amount could be exceeded in 2026.

It means that revenues from Portugal’s tourism sector are now worth 10% of the country’s GDP.

“Portugal is growing at 2.5% per year in terms of tourist flows and 6% in terms of revenues”, a rate that has more than doubled the rate of Portugal’s economic growth. More than €30Bn in revenues, 84 million overnight stays and 32 million passengers. All records.

The numbers are overwhelming and travel agents and tourism operators say they are optimistic for the new year even if they are still being cautious.

But the president of the Tourism Confederation of Portugal (CTP) warns that the sector is entering a slowdown phase in relation to the previous years.

“We should not delude ourselves! We are entering a phase of sustainable growth”, said Francisco Calheiros during the 50th Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies and Tourism (APAVT) that took place in Macau in December.

According to the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE), the tourism accommodation sector posted 10.5 million guests and 28.6 million overnight stays between June and August, registering a growth of 2% in overnight stays on last summer.

“Have they increased? Yes, but not at the rates we were seeing in recent years”, emphasised the tourism boss.

It is a view that was shared by Pedro Machado who said that Portugal was now seeing what was known as “growth pains” for the next 10 years. Portugal’s tourism strategy will be based on three pillars: sustained growth, good tourist experience and a greater satisfaction of residents.

“We want to ensure that this growth does not undermine the sustainability of our resources, but offers a good experience for tourist while not inconveniencing our local residents”, he said.