Tourism in Portugal serves millions of international and domestic tourists. Tourists visit to see cities, historic landmarks, enjoy beaches, or religious sites. As of 2024, Portugal had 29 million international visitors. In addition, there were 22,9 million trips made by Portuguese residents including overnight stays at local hotels. The most popular destinations are Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Portuguese Riviera, Madeira, Sintra, Óbidos, Nazaré, Fátima, Braga, Guimarães and Coimbra. The most popular with internationals were Lisbon region, the Algarve, the West and Tagus Valley region (Óbidos, Nazaré, Fátima), Northern Portugal (Porto, Braga and Guimarães) and Coimbra. National tourists prefer the Algarve and Northern Portugal, followed by Central region of Portugal.
Statistics
+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions
In 2016, and compared to 2015, most tourists staying in hotels were attracted to Lisbon (6.3 million, up from 5.8), Porto and Northern Portugal (4.4 million, up from 3.9), the Algarve (4.2 million, up from 3.8), Central Portugal (3.2 million, up from 2.9 million), Madeira (1.5 million, up from 1.3), Alentejo (1.2 million, up from 1.1), and the Azores (0.5 million, up from 0.4). The Algarve and Lisbon lead in overnight stays.Estatísticas do Turismo - 2015 - INE In 2016, overnight stays grew significantly in other regions: the Azores (+21.1%), Northern Portugal (+14.4%), Alentejo (+12%), Central Portugal (+11.8%), and Madeira (+10.9%).Alojamento turístico acelera crescimento - 2016 - INEEstatísticas do Turismo - 2016 - INE
The following table presents the nationality of the largest demographic of tourists from 2017 to 2023: Rank Country 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 20231 1,970,850 2,069,645 2,285,829795,2901,151,6292,174,4192,375,5732 1,600,199 1,641,912 1,623,207470,695773,2531,573,2632,359,8803 2,099,008 2,042,867 2,145,902456,639693,3072,114,4182,358,6374 790,141 981,822 1,202,247133,056345,5211,510,3512,049,8805 1,565,904 1,602,066 1,541,398438,321569,5171,430,0771,623,1326 971,453 1,103,718 1,281,675272,884235,292925,7181,101,3237 650,325 665,930 722,115162,028257,072672,728823,9718 617,124 610,161 598,375179,947311,255642,057649,2329 - 346,428 380,89656,63450,585384,183595,30510 345,724 357,542 413,73351,904135,068457,453524,45911 - 303,013 304,86781,739162,852318,756370,74512 312,029 327,264 325,79995,136187,716333,049344,19613 - 285,362 277,61662,124154,606275,624330,94614 -142,393151,97012,30211,31087,287196,11215 -119,799138,49312,44640,603162,456188,33816 - 324,258 385,30756,62317,24968,117187,48417 -141,439151,05520,94559,624143,485173,20418 -170,242205,55144,9317,00558,935166,78319 - 142,573 144,49030,69171,943157,755163,00620 - 190,183 183,71745,20163,203148,688158,54321 -68,38363,59118,65448,23197,040120,39222 -73,37773,74322,75443,12186,58899,40023 -101,215105,56021,54230,08695,86092,45824 -97,90094,40512,98419,50386,56891,44125 -44,18857,52614,79637,38275,73390,63926 -52,96272,47715,34115,54460,96486,89927 -41,71747,5487,10912,69655,12182,17528 -67,90572,67410,3757,85758,37176,80329 -52,44252,43812,37824,63554,19073,48330 -170,330186,98138,92628,59060,05372,684 Other foreign 3,666,674 969,121 1,118,929250,550351,618953,6031,281,345 Total international visitors 14,589,431 15,308,157 16,410,1143,904,9455,917,87315,322,91018,238,375
In 2016, accounting international tourists, the most popular regions were Lisbon (4.4 million), Algarve (3 million), Northern Portugal (2.1 million), Central Portugal (1.2), Madeira (1.2), Alentejo 370,000 and the Azores. For national tourists the most popular regions were Northern Portugal (2.3), Central Portugal (2.0), Lisbon (1.9), the Algarve (1.2), Alentejo (0.8), Madeira (0.29), and the Azores (0.27).
Lisbon is, with Barcelona, one of the European cities leading in overnight stays.DN Online: Cidades atraem mais turistas do que os destinos sol e mar The urban areas of Porto and Northern Portugal, north of Douro River surpassed Madeira, in 2010, and the Algarve, in 2015, and became the second most visited destination in Portugal. In 2015, most tourists were Europeans, but also from the Americas and Asia. Sleeping in the country's hotels, the most numerous are the British, Spanish, French, Germans, Brazilians, the Dutch, Americans, Italians, and the Japanese, which not only want the sun and the beach, but mostly cultural ones, city breaks, gastronomy, nautical tourism, or business traveling.
Portugal won 14 "Oscars" of the tourism. The national tourism had 77 nominations and won a total of 14 awards in more than 10 European categories, surpassing Spain or Italy, at the gala of the World Travel Awards 2015, whose ceremony took place in Sardinia, Italy. CNN compared Lisbon and Porto head-to-head in order to find who has the best food, culture, old cafés and boutiques, nightlife, and the best beaches.
Travel guide giants Lonely Planet have designated Portugal as one of the top 3 countries to visit in 2018.
Tourism regions
Tourist hotspots in Portugal are Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, Madeira, Sintra, Óbidos, Fátima, Coimbra and Azores, but the Portuguese government is currently developing new destinations: the Douro Valley, Porto Santo Island, and Alentejo.
Tourist regions The main tourist regions can be broken-down into: the Greater Lisbon, the Greater Porto, the Algarve, the Alentejo, Central Portugal, Northern Portugal and the Portuguese Islands: Madeira and Azores.
Other tourist regions include Douro Sul, Templários, Dão-Lafões, Costa do Sol, Costa Azul, Planície Dourada, that are unknown to many tourists or visitors.
Most of these regions are grouped in tourism reference areas, which continue to be in a state of reorganization and evolution, some based on the traditional regions of Portugal: the Costa Verde (Green Coast); Costa da Prata (Silver Coast); Costa de Lisboa (Lisbon Coast); Montanhas (Mountains); Planícies (Plains); Algarve; and the islands of the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. All these regions are grouped in tourism reference areas, which are widely known because these are the traditional regions: Costa Verde in Norte Region — The Portuguese green coast comprises all the northern coast of Portugal from the estuary of the Minho River to the city of Porto. Costa de Prata in Centro Region — The Portuguese silver coast comprises from Porto to Lisbon. Fátima, Nazaré and Óbidos are 3 very important places. Portuguese Riviera (Sintra, Cascais and Estoril) Comporta — The northwestern coast of the Alentejo Caparica Coast — The coast south of Lisbon, across the Tagus river Montanhas — Mountainous and interior regions of northern and central Portugal, namely Serra da Estrela and Trás-os-Montes. Planícies — The Portuguese plane region of Alentejo in the south. Algarve — The southern coast of Portugal including the Golden Triangle. Madeira — The Madeira islands. Açores — The Azores islands.
Protected areas
The following table presents the number of visitors who contacted each of the protected areas of Portugal, according to ICNF
Protected Area 2018 2019 202020212022 Alvão 25,368 58,630 9,30317,74034,991 Arrábida 30,435 28,795 2,66810,27618,880 Arriba Fóssil da Costa da Caparica 1,498 2,267 6451,0692,516 Berlengas 40,505 44,078 540?? Douro International 28,743 60,570 01,1702,018 Dunas de São Jacinto 6,348 5,400 3,2192,93511,184 Estuário do Sado 85,543 82,242 54,64353,83862,576 Estuário do Tejo 1,713 1,853 31299263 Lagoas de Santo André e de Sancha 12,857 8,942 2,2452,3488,039 Litoral Norte 4,582 6,723 5,7523,18217,018 Madeira 6,180 5,894 5,4585,7316,724 Paul do Boquilobo 2,319 1,956 1,30581112,275 Peneda-Gerês 112,227 103,593 39,48545,52766,198 Paul de Arzila 1,236 860 8419921,363 Ria Formosa 46,662 60,061 17,20216,80525,997 Serra da Estrela 3,079 18,429 4,2021,2711,552 Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António 7,642 7,999 1,3753,4297,367 Serra da Malcata 4,097 3,951 6491,2741,259 Serra de São Mamede 4,556 9,934 2,6201,0322,316 Serra do Açor 6,124 5,284 3,4296,69124,724 Serras de Aire e Candeeiros 43,435 44,326 15,69113,42240,313 Sintra-Cascais 58,127 52,774 12,91222,18428,467 Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina 15,950 18,027 3,5933,7599,096 Tejo Internacional * 38 **130 Vale do Guadiana 332 1,306 321704,930Total549,558633,923188,121215,755390,196
UNESCO World Heritage sites List of World Heritage Sites in Portugal
Souvenirs The Rooster of Barcelos is bought by many tourists as a souvenir. The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. The story is associated with the 17th-century calvary that is part of the collection of the Archeological Museum located in Paço dos Condes, a gothic-style palace in Barcelos, a city in the Braga District of northwest Portugal.
See also Seven Wonders of Portugal Tourism in Lisbon List of museums in Portugal List of Portuguese dishes Portuguese cuisine Portuguese Riviera
References
External links
Portugal Official Tourism Website Algarve Official Tourism Website Center of Portugal Portugal Travel Guide