Tourism is a fundamental economic activity for the generation of wealth and employment in Portugal and tourism data for 2023 reaffirm this importance.
In 2023, the tourism sector surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the main demand indicators (up 10.0% in overnight stays; up 10.7% in guest numbers and up 18.9% in revenue from tourism), breaking new records. These figures confirm the weight of the sector in the Portuguese economy, with tourist revenue reaching 9.5% of the country's GDP, and 48.6% and 19.9% of Exports of Services and Global Exports, respectively.
Thirty million guests were registered, 18.3 million of whom were foreigners, representing an increase of 13.3% and 19.1%, respectively, compared to 2022.
With a total of 77.2 million overnight stays in 2023, this figure represents an increase of 10.7% compared to the same period last year. Foreigners accounted for 53.8 million overnight stays.
The main issuing markets for Portugal in 2023, in this indicator, were:
_ United Kingdom: 9.9 million (up 9.4%)
_ Germany: 6.1 million (up 12.9%)
_ Spain: 5.5 million (up 7.7%)
_ France: 4.6 million (up 6.2%)
_ USA: 4.6 million (up 32.9%)
As for tourism revenue, and according to data from the Bank of Portugal, the accumulated 12 months of 2023 reached 25.1 billion euros, an amount 18.9% higher than in 2022.
In this indicator, the main source markets for Portugal were:
_ United Kingdom: 3.8 bn€ (up 16.1%)
_ France: 3.1 bn€ (up 7.2%)
_ Germany: 2.8 bn€ (up 19.4%)
_ Spain: 2.8 bn€ (up 16.0%)
_ U.S.A.: 2.5 bn€ (up 31.5%)
Turismo de Portugal provides activity indicators and statistics, market analysis and trends, as well as market information on TravelBI, a knowledge management platform for tourism activity.
Sources: INE (Statistics Portugal), Banco de Portugal, 2023
