Glossary and Important Notes

18 November 2025
Important Notes

For indicators that have already been calculated - such as RevPAR, ADR, Macroeconomic Indicators, Tourism Carrying Capacity Indicators, and Occupancy Rates - you must always select all available fields. Since these are secondary indicators derived from primary data, changing the order of the fields or selecting only some of them may result in errors in the results.

Some data at the municipal level may be subject to quality criteria or statistical confidentiality rules. For this reason, it may not be possible to provide information for all municipalities for certain indicators.

Sources

Designation

Primary Source

Additional Information

Overnight Stays and Guests by NUTS II

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2023 a 2026

Overnight Stays and Guests by Municipality - Historical Series

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2016 a 2024

Total and Room Revenue by NUTS II

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2023 a 2026

Total and Room Revenue by Municipality - Historical Series

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2016 a 2024

RevPAR and ADR by NUTS II

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2023 a 2026

RevPAR and ADR by Municipality - Historical Series

Statistics Portugal

Available years: RevPAR (2016 a 2024) ADR (2018 a 2024)

Macroeconomic Indicators - Absolute values

World Bank

Available years:  Several indicators (2012 a 2024)

Macroeconomic Indicators - Percentual values

World Bank

Available years:  Several indicators (2012 a 2024)

Tourism Receipts

Portuguese Central Bank

Available years: 1996 a 2026

Overnight Stays by Municipality - Current year

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2025 e 2026

Guests by Municipality - Current year

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2025 e 2026

Accommodation Supply by NUTS II

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2023 a 2025

Accommodation Supply by Municipality - Historical Series

Statistics Portugal

Available years: 2016 a 2024

Tourism Carrying Capacity Indicators

Statistics Portugal/TP

Available years: 2017 a 2024

Foreign Card Spending in Portugal

SIBS

Available years: 2018 a 2026 NACE Accommodation, Restaurants and Tour Operators

Room and Bed Occupancy Rate

TP

Available years: 2009 a 2026

Concepts

ADR (Average Daily Rate)

Revenue per occupied room, an indicator that measures the average revenue per occupied room by calculating the ratio of room revenue to the number of occupied rooms.

Aldeamento turístico

A tourist accommodation facility consisting of a set of functionally interdependent structures with a uniform architectural style, located within a defined area without any breaks in continuity, intended to provide lodging and other complementary services to tourists in exchange for payment.

Tourist Accommodation

Type of accomodation for tourist overnight accomodation.

Year

A time dimension that identifies the reference period in calendar years.

Apartamento turístico

A tourist accommodation facility consisting of furnished and equipped units in separate buildings, typically intended to provide lodging and other complementary services to tourists in exchange for payment.

Accommodation Caapcity (Beds)

Maximum number of persons that establishments can accommodate at a certain time or period, which is determined by the number of existing bed places, considering the double bed as two bed places.

Beds per 1,000 residents

It shows the number of available beds in hotels, "aldeamentos turísticos", "apartamentos turísticos", "alojamento local" with more than 10 beds and "turismo no espaço rural" per 1,000 residents.

Municipality

A local government (municipality) responsible for advancing the interests of the residents within its territorial jurisdiction.

International Arrivals

The number of visits by foreign tourists to a country during a given period, counting each entry by a visitor from abroad, regardless of the length of stay.

Tourism Density

An indicator that measures tourism pressure on a given area by calculating the ratio of the number of overnight stays in hotels, "aldeamentos turísticos", "apartamentos turísticos", "alojamento local" with more than 10 beds and "turismo no espaço rural" to the area of the territory, measured in square kilometers

Overnight Stay

An individual’s stay at an establishment that provides lodging, for a period spanning from 12:00 p.m. on one day to 12:00 p.m. on the following day.

Alojamento Local

An establishment that provides temporary lodging services for a fee, particularly to tourists, and meets the requirements set forth in current legislation, excluding the specific requirements for tourist resorts.

Turismo no Espaço Rural

An establishment designed to provide lodging services in rural areas, equipped with an appropriate set of facilities, structures, equipment, and complementary services to preserve and enhance the architectural, historical, natural, and scenic heritage of the region.

Exports of Goods and Services

Exports of goods and services consist of transactions involving goods and services (sales, direct exchanges, gifts, or donations) by residents to nonresidents.

Foreign Card Spending

According to SIBS, spending on foreign cards in Portugal refers to the value and number of transactions made within Portuguese territory using bank cards issued abroad, covering purchases and withdrawals made by tourists or other non-residents. This metric reflects spending by international visitors through the SIBS network (including Multibanco/POS/ATM terminals), allowing for an assessment of tourism’s economic contribution and an analysis of spending patterns by card origin, regions of the country, and sectors of activity.

Guest

A person who stays at least one night at a tourist accommodation establishment.

Hotel

A hotel establishment that occupies a building or an independent part thereof, with facilities that form a cohesive whole, comprising complete and contiguous floors, and featuring its own direct access for the exclusive use of its guests, to whom temporary lodging and other ancillary or support services are provided, with or without meals, in exchange for payment. These establishments have at least 10 accommodation units.

Hotel-Apartamento

A hotel establishment consisting of a complex of at least 10 fully equipped, self-contained apartments (rented on a daily basis to tourists), occupying the entire building or a separate section thereof, provided that it consists of complete and contiguous floors, with its own direct access to the floors for the exclusive use of its guests, with a restaurant and at least housekeeping and cleaning services.

Tourism Intensity

An indicator used to assess the ratio of tourists to the resident population and the resulting impacts, based on the ratio of the number of overnight stays in hotels, "aldeamentos turísticos", "apartamentos turísticos", "alojamento local" with more than 10 beds and "turismo no espaço rural" to the number of residents.

Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign direct investment (FDI) refers to a long-term investment made with the aim of obtaining a lasting interest and significant influence in the management of a company in another country.

Market (Country of residence)

Classification of guests by country of usual residence. A country in which an individual is considered a resident: 1) if they have their primary residence within that country’s economic territory for a period exceeding one year (12 months); 2) if they have lived in that country for a shorter period and intend to return within 12 months with the intention of settling there, thereby establishing their primary residence in that location.

Month

time dimension that identifies the reference period in months.

NUTS

Territorial units for statistical purposes defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units (NUTS).

International Departures

The number of trips made by residents of a country abroad during a given period, counting each trip taken by a resident for leisure, business, or other reasons, regardless of the length of stay.

Pousada

A hotel located in a building designated as a national, regional, or municipal historic landmark that, due to its architectural and historical significance, is representative of a particular era and is situated outside of tourist areas with sufficient hotel accommodations.

Room Revenue

Revenues generated by overnight stays by all guests at tourist accommodations.

Total Revenue

Revenue generated by tourist accommodation activities: lodging, food and beverage services, and other revenue arising from the business itself (rental of spaces, laundry services, tobacco sales, communications, among others).

per Capita GDP

Per capita GDP is a statistical concept that represents an economy’s gross domestic product divided by its population. This indicator measures the average value of goods and services produced per person over a given period, such as a year.

GDP

GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is an economic statistic that represents the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced in a country during a specific period.

Quintas da Madeira

An establishment that provides temporary lodging services for a fee, particularly to tourists, in one or more existing buildings of architectural, heritage, and cultural significance that reflect Madeira’s historical past, in accordance with current legislation.

RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room)

Revenue per available room, an indicator that reflects the ratio of room revenue to the number of available rooms.

Tourism Receipts

The value of expenditures made by foreign tourists in Portugal, recorded as service receipts in the balance of payments, covering accommodation, food, leisure, and other tourism services, excluding international passenger transport, which is accounted for separately

Bed Occupancy Rate

The ratio of the number of overnight stays to the number of available beds during the reference period, with double beds counted as two.

Room Occupancy Rate

Ratio of the number of occupied rooms to the total number of rooms.

Inflation Rate

The inflation rate measures the average, broad-based percentage change in the prices of a basket of goods and services over time. Statistically, it is calculated using the percentage change in a price index, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a weighted average of the prices of hundreds of items based on their importance in household budgets.

Accommodation unit (Rooms)

A room in a tourist accommodation establishment, which may be classified as a room, suite, or apartment: a room is a unit with one or more beds; a suite consists of, at a minimum, a bedroom, a full bathroom, and a living room (connected to each other via an anteroom); an apartment consists of, at a minimum, a bedroom, a full bathroom, a living and dining room, and a small kitchen (kitchenette).