Trips abroad rise 30%, keeping Portugal's tourism market active in the first quarter
Portuguese residents made significantly more trips abroad in the first quarter of 2026, with outbound travel increasing 30% year-on-year to nearly 1 million trips, highlighting growing consumer confidence and a stronger appetite for international travel.
According to data released by Statistics Portugal (INE), Portuguese residents made approximately 5.6 million trips during the first three months of the year, representing an overall increase of 7% compared with the same period last year. International travel reached 923,800 trips, becoming the primary driver of the market’s overall growth.
Outbound travel accounted for 58.5% of the total increase in tourism activity during the quarter, with its growth rate roughly double that recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025. The figures reflect the continued recovery of international air routes, expanding airline capacity and rising demand for cross-border travel.
Domestic tourism remains a solid foundation
Despite the rapid growth in outbound travel, domestic tourism continued to account for the vast majority of trips made by Portuguese residents.
During the first quarter, residents took around 4.6 million domestic trips, representing 83.4% of all travel and marking a 3.4% year-on-year increase. Although the pace of growth slowed compared with the previous quarter, the large volume of domestic travel continued to provide stable demand for hotels, restaurants, transport services and regional tourism businesses.
INE also noted that the proportion of residents taking tourism-related trips increased steadily throughout the quarter, reaching its highest level in March, when 21.4% of Portugal’s resident population made at least one trip.
Visiting friends and relatives remained the leading reason for travel, accounting for approximately 2.4 million trips, or 43.7% of the total, and continued to dominate the domestic tourism market.
Leisure travel drives outbound demand
For international travel, leisure, recreation and holidays were the main drivers, accounting for 58.9% of all outbound trips, reflecting sustained demand among Portuguese residents for overseas leisure travel.
Business travel, by contrast, was the only category to record a decline, falling 13.5% year-on-year to approximately 560,100 trips.
In terms of travel planning, 39.4% of all trips involved advance bookings, while the booking rate for outbound travel reached 95.4%. More than 70% of international trips were booked online, highlighting the growing importance of digital platforms in Portugal’s travel market.
Regarding accommodation, 58.6% of overnight stays were in free private accommodation, while traditional hotels accounted for 30.3% of the market and remained the preferred choice for both business and leisure travellers.
The average length of stay also increased slightly to 2.77 nights, supported by the quarter’s highest monthly average recorded in March.
Growing travel demand signals resilience in the wider economy
Although the increase in outbound tourism primarily reflects Portuguese residents travelling overseas, it also points to strengthening consumer spending power, greater travel confidence and resilient household demand.
At the same time, domestic tourism has remained stable, providing continued support for Portugal’s hospitality, transport, food service and regional tourism sectors.
As international flight connections continue to expand, online booking platforms become increasingly widespread and travel spending remains robust, Portugal’s broader tourism ecosystem is expected to benefit further. Rising travel demand not only supports airlines, travel agencies and digital travel platforms, but also underscores the resilience of the country’s consumer market, creating positive momentum for the tourism, hospitality and related service industries.
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