Portugal’s tourist accommodation sector achieved record highs in December

The tourist accommodation sector in Portugal has achieved a record high for the month of December, with 1.9 million guests and 4.2 million overnight stays in the last month of 2024.

According to INE data, this is an increase of 3.6% in terms of the number of guests, and 2.9% more overnight stays. Overnight stays by residents were up 0.6% to 1.6 million, while stays by non-residents were up 4.4%, to 2.6 million.

As regards international markets, the UK maintained top position in December, accounting for a 13.7% share of the inbound market, although it saw a slight decrease of 0.2%.

Spain held a 13.2% share, however its numbers dropped by 10%. Poland, meanwhile, saw the biggest increase in overnight stays, growing by 13.9%.

Regional winners

Regionally, Madeira and the Azores recorded the highest growth in overnight stays, up 8.8% and 4.4%, respectively.

In contrast, the Oeste e Vale do Tejo and Centro regions experienced declines in overnight stays of 3.0% and 0.3%, respectively.

Tourism in 2024

According to preliminary data for the full year of 2024, Portugal’s tourist accommodation sector recorded 31.6 million guests and 80.3 million overnight stays, reflecting annual increases of 5.2% and 4.0%.

Overnight stays by non-residents accounted for 70.3% of the total, or 56.4 million nights. This was an increase of 4.8%. The domestic market, meanwhile, contributed 23.9 million overnight stays, growing by 2.4%.

The UK accounted for an 18.1% share of non-resident overnight stays in 2024, with this figure increasing by 2.7%. Other major tourist markets included Germany (11.3%), Spain (9.7%), North America (9.2%), and France (8.0%).

Outside of Europe, the Canadian and North American markets recorded the largest increases, with growth of 17.1% and 12.1%, respectively. Read more here.