Tourism in Portugal: tourist activity in Portugal is largely driven by the arrival of foreigners in the country. But at the end of 2023, specifically in November there was a slowdown in the number of overnight stays by foreign arrivals compared to the previous month. What also stands out is that foreigners spent fewer nights in Portugal in November. It was actually British, German and North American tourists who recorded the highest number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation in Portugal.
"Foreign markets are showing signs of slowing down, but they continue to drive tourist activity," this is the conclusion of the National Statistics Institute (INE) regarding Portugal's tourism statistics for November 2023. This means that foreigners spent fewer nights in Portugal in November than in October last year (-42%), with a total of 3.2 million overnight stays. And although there was a year-on-year increase in overnight stays by foreigners of around 9.9%, this was lower than the 11.7% recorded in the previous month.
The average stay in tourist accommodation establishments in Portugal confirms this trend: foreigners spent an average of 2.85 nights in Portugal in November, 3.8% less than in October. It should be noted, however, that since 2013 there has been a decrease in the number of overnight stays by foreigners in the final stretch of the year (November and October), which indicates that this is a trend that continues in the country in the colder months.
At national level, "overnight stays by residents totalled 1.3 million, reinforcing the growth trend that began in the previous month (+2.3%; +0.3% in October)," INE points out. However, the average stay of residents (1.75 nights) fell by 0.4%, according to the report released at the end of 2023.
All told, the tourist accommodation sector in Portugal recorded a total of 1.9 million guests and 4.6 million overnight stays in November, corresponding to year-on-year growths of 9.2% and 7.5% respectively (+8.9% and +8.6% in October, in the same order). The average stay in tourist accommodation establishments (2.40 nights) fell by 1.6% in November (-0.3% in the previous month).
Which country visits Portugal the most?
Who are the foreigners who spend the most time in Portugal? There are 17 main foreign markets that choose Portugal the most for their holidays, accounting for 83.2% of all overnight stays by non-residents in November. But where do foreign tourists come from? According to INE, it's the British, Germans and Americans who come to Portugal the most.
These are the five countries of residence of the foreigners who most chose tourist accommodation in Portugal for their holidays in November 2023:
- United Kingdom (15.3% of total overnight stays);
- Germany (12.8%);
- USA (9.3%);
- Spain (8.5%);
- France (6.3%).
Among the top 5, INE also points out that the British market recorded a 15.6% increase in overnight stays in November compared to the same month last year, followed by the North American (+14.4%), German (+10.1%), French (+9.6%) and Spanish (4.1%) markets.
Despite the Canadian, Polish and Austrian markets having less weight in overnight stays compared to the total, the institute highlights their "significant growth" compared to the previous year, of +34.4%, +24.7% and +22.6%, respectively. "On the other hand, the Finnish (-12.9%), Brazilian (-3.4%) and Swedish (-1.7%) markets also declined," it concludes.
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