It was a banner year for tourism in Portugal in 2023 as the country welcomed record numbers 26.5 million visitors to its cities, mountains and coastlines.
The country benefited in part from the affordability of holiday destinations, the enormous popularity of the southern Algarve and its liberal visa programmes.
Record year for tourism
The record 26.5 million travelers who visited Portugal last year was a 19.2 percent increase on visitor numbers from the pandemic-hit year of 2022.
Even despite the pandemic year comparison, Portugal recorded a respectable increase of 7.7 percent compared to the year before the pandemic.
According to recently reported results from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), visitor numbers include only non-resident travelers.
Total turnover from overnight stays in hotels and other accommodations increased nationally by 20 percent to six trillion euros.
Affordable travel destination
Compared to much of Europe, Portugal was seen as a value-oriented holiday travel destination. This allowed the country to attract a record number of visitors.
Statistics from the INE show that the average room price per night across all hotels in Portugal in 2023 was an affordable €113.
This compares favorably when room rates in many popular cities in Europe easily exceeded €200 during the year.
Even the most expensive parts of Portugal, such as Lisbon and the Algarve, were still reasonable compared to other major cities and Mediterranean beach destinations.
Popularity of the Algarve
Portugal’s Mediterranean coast, also known as the Algarve, has absolutely exploded in popularity with expats and travelers alike.
Long sandy beaches meet golden cliffs with the warm Mediterranean lifestyle. The Algarve is relatively expensive to visit compared to other parts of the country, but is still good holiday value for travelers who love the coast.
Many holiday travelers focus on visiting the Algarve or its largest city and national capital, Lisbon.
Aimed at the rich and the nomads
Portugal has also become very popular since the pandemic due to its very liberal visa and citizenship policies.
Wealthy travelers headed to Portugal to purchase a vacation property, or even buy a home to relocate, because of its generous Golden Visa program that gave property buyers a fast track to residency and citizenship.
However, it led to many locals struggling to find affordable housing in the popular Golden Visa markets. The government responded by reducing the availability of the popular program.
The liberal visa program for digital nomads was another source of many travelers to Portugal. The country has established a very popular program to attract remote workers from around the world.
Combined with the low cost of living, Portugal’s digital nomad initiative has been very successful in remote work travel and tourism to the country.
Tips for travelers
Traveler demand for holiday destinations remains high this summer and Europe appears to be a popular tourist destination.
Therefore, visitors heading to Portugal, especially the popular tourist destinations of the Algarve and Lisbon, should continue.
It is also related to the fact that as the global economy slows down, especially in the United States, travelers may look for a more affordable travel destination in Europe. Relatively speaking, Portugal meets this value-oriented travel approach.
Tourists looking to explore Portugal on a trip to Europe should plan ahead and make flight and hotel reservations well in advance of their trip. This will be an important planning factor for travelers considering a getaway to Lisbon or the Algarve in late summer or early fall.
Travelers can expect high rates for hotels in popular destinations, compared to other parts of Portugal. But even those should be quite affordable compared to other destinations in Europe.
