Last year, tourism in Portugal contributed 34 billion euros to the economy, equating to 12% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). This figure aligns with 2023 (12%) and surpasses the 2022 percentage (11.2%).
The tourism sector had reached historic highs in 2023. However, while it accounted for nearly half (48%) of the real economic growth that year, its impact reduced in 2024, contributing to just 15% of GDP variation.
INE reported that the tourism sector provided “a contribution of 0.3 percentage points to the real GDP growth in 2024 (1.9%),” contrasting last year’s report dated August 1, 2024, which indicated that tourism activities contributed “almost half (1.1 percentage points) to the real GDP growth in 2023 (2.3%).”
Despite this slowdown, the contribution to economic evolution remains positive.
Meanwhile, estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) suggest that Portugal’s Travel and Tourism sector is set to continue growing in 2025. A study conducted with Oxford Economics forecasts that the sector will contribute 62.7 billion euros to the national economy this year, representing 21.5% of GDP and exceeding the 2019 peak of nearly 38%.
Final data for 2025 is not yet available, but it’s already evident that in July 2025, tourist revenues from foreign tourist spending in Portugal reached 4.1 billion euros, according to the Bank of Portugal (BdP). This marks the highest value for a July month in the statistical series.
Last year, tourist revenues amounted to 4.1 billion euros in August, marking a historic peak. Travel and tourism exports, reflecting the expenditures made by non-residents in Portugal during travel or stay, reached 4,149.07 million euros in August 2025, the highest value since the series began in 1996, and a 4.2% increase from the 3,979.17 million recorded in August 2023.
Tourism has been recognized as an economic driver, but post-pandemic discussions arose over the sector’s reliance for growth, as lockdowns and public health measures severely restricted international travel during that period.
In November last year, at the Web Summit, the Finance Minister argued for reducing tourism’s share in GDP and exports, advocating instead for an increase in the contribution from technology and high-value-added services.
At that time, the official admitted that tourism is “a very important activity in Portugal, representing 20% of GDP,” but stressed the need to “reduce its importance” as the only way for the country to grow with better salaries and public services is through innovation, high-tech, and high-value-added services.
This year, however, trade tensions affected economic activity, and according to the Public Finance Council, GDP growth will be driven more by domestic demand than exports, including tourism.
During the economic forecast presentation this week, Nazaré da Costa Cabral highlighted that “the economy made great efforts to readjust and reconvert the economic growth profile, which was based on internal demand,” aided by tourism, but now this trend is weakening.
Growth based on private consumption poses risks, she warned, emphasizing not to “lose competitive capacity.”
