Markets
Spain

Market Characterization for Portugal

In 2025, Spain ranked as the 4th largest source market for Portugal in terms of overnight stays (share: 9.1%) and the 3rd largest in terms of visitors (share: 11.7%). In 2025, the Spanish market recorded approximately 2,310,500 guests (year-over-year change: -3.3%), who generated 5,173,400 overnight stays (year-over-year change: -5.2%). It stands out as the 5th largest market in terms of tourism revenue, with €2,939.6 million (share: 10.1%), up 3.6% compared to 2024.

In terms of overnight stays, the North is the top domestic destination for tourists from Spain visiting Portugal (29.9%), followed by Greater Lisbon (23.2%) and the Algarve (15.9%). By type of accommodation, hotel stays predominated (65.0%), followed by private lodging (17.5%) and apartment hotels (7.2%).

The airlines that transported Spanish tourists to Portugal were: TAP Air Portugal (25.6%), Ryanair (share: 23.0%), Vueling (15.3%), Air Europa Líneas Aéreas (12.5%), Iberia (12.1%), and easyJet (Europe) (7.3%). Most flights originated in Madrid (41.0%), followed by Barcelona (29.1%), Seville (4.9%), Valencia (4.7%), Málaga (4.3%), and Palma de Mallorca (3.2%).

According to SIBS data, the North accounts for 35.7% of the €610.4 million in card purchases originating in Spain in 2025. The Center ranks fourth (share: 7.9%), behind Greater Lisbon (23.4%) and the Algarve (15.5%).

2025 Position | Year-over-Year Change
Guests 2.3M 3º | -3.3%
Overnight stays 5.2M 4º | -5.2%
Tourism revenue 2939.6M€ 5º | 3.6%
Disembarked passengers 3.7M 3º | 2.6%

Market Profile

Change 24/23
48.8 M Population
1.0 %
52012.4 USD GDP per Capita
3.1 %
2.7 % Inflation Rate
-0.7 pp
24.4 % Savings Rate
0.0 pp

Spain is a country on the Iberian Peninsula with a population of 48.8 million in 2024; it was the 15th largest economy in the world and the 4th largest in the European Union.

According to Globaldata, in 2024, Spain was the 14th largest source market for tourists worldwide, generating 27.6 million trips and accounting for 1.9% of total global tourism demand. Approximately 83.8% of these trips were within Europe (23.1 million trips).

The main regions sending Spanish tourists to Portugal were Madrid (share: 49.8%), Barcelona (20.4%), Valencia (7.1%), Málaga (4.6%), Bilbao (4.3%), Seville (3.2%), Alicante (3.0%), Palma de Mallorca (1.6%), Las Palmas (1.4%), Ibiza (1.3%), Tenerife (1.2%), and other cities (2.1%).

In turn, 67.6% of trips abroad taken by Spanish tourists in 2024 were by air, 31.6% were by land, and 0.8% by sea.

Tourists from Spain traveling as couples, families, in groups, and individually accounted for 33.5%, 26.3%, 24.5%, and 15.7%, respectively, of total trips abroad. In that year, the 50–64 age group was the most represented (25.9% share).

Leisure accounted for 86.6% of all trips abroad by Spanish residents that year (including Leisure and Visiting Friends and Relatives), followed by business travel, which accounted for 9.1%, and other reasons (4.3%).

Team

Market team coordinator
Maria de Lurdes Vale
info.espana@turismodeportugal.pt
0034917617254

Perspectives

IMF data indicate that Spain’s economy grew by 3.5% in 2024, despite the current unfavorable international environment, particularly the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, rising costs of energy and other raw materials and intermediate goods. Slower growth is projected for 2025 and 2026, at 2.9% and 2.0%, respectively.

According to GlobalData, between 2025 and 2029, international departures by tourists from Spain to foreign destinations are expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1%, reaching a total of 34.8 million departures in 2029. Spending by Spanish tourists abroad is projected to increase at a CAGR of 8.0% over the same period.

According to Forwardkeys, flight forecasts in terms of passengers originating from the Spanish market to Portugal for the period from December 2025 to May 2026 point to a 14.7% increase compared to the same period the previous year.

TOP 10 destinations: France (share: 26.2%), Italy (14.9%), United Kingdom (9.4%), Portugal (8.6%), Morocco (4.3%), Germany (4.0%), USA (3.2%), Netherlands (3.1%), Ireland (1.9%), and Greece (1.8%).

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