Markets
Sweden
Market Characterization for Portugal

In 2024, Sweden ranked as the 15th tourist market for Portugal according to the overnight stays indicator (share: 1.1%) and 19th for guests (0.9%). In 2024, the Swedish market recorded around 165.9 thousand guests (var.24/23: +4.6%) who generated 594.8 thousand overnight stays (var.24/23: +1.7%). It stands out as the 17th market in terms of tourism revenue with €237.0 million (share: 0.9%), up 5.6% on 2023.

In terms of overnight stays, the Algarve was the main destination for Swedish tourists visiting Portugal (35.5%), followed by Greater Lisbon (28.6%) and Madeira (18.4%). In terms of type, overnight stays in hotels predominated (52.8%), followed by apartment hotels (17.5%) and local accommodation (13.0%).

Portugal ranks 5th in total outbound air flows from the market; in this period, the airlines that transported Swedish tourists to Portugal were: TAP (share: 27.9%), Sas (21.1%), Ryanair (10.7%), Norwegian (10.6%), KLM (8.3%) and Lufthansa (7.7%). Most operations originate in the cities of Stockholm (share: 77.3%), followed by Gothenburg (19.4%) and others (3.3%).

It should be noted that Swedish tourists stay an average of 11.8 nights in Portugal (ForwardKeys); the majority buy airline tickets through direct channels (share: 62.5%); and travel as a couple (32.3%).

According to SIBS data, the Algarve will account for 48.4% of the 1,061.0 million euros in card purchases originating in the United Kingdom in 2024. Madeira comes in 3rd place (share: 9.5%), after Greater Lisbon (24.8%).

2024 Position | Year-over-Year Change
Guests 0.2M 19º | 4.6%
Overnight stays 0.6M 15º | 1.7%
Tourism revenue 237.0M€ 17º | 5.6%
Disembarked passengers 0.1M 24º | 6.5%

Market Profile
Change 24/23
10.6 M Population
0.3 %
69176.5 USD GDP per Capita
1.7 %
2.6 % Inflation Rate
-3.3 pp
31.6 % Savings Rate
0.0 pp

Sweden had 10.58 million inhabitants in 2024 (its share of the European Union was 2.3%) and was the 24th largest economy in the world.

According to Globaldata, Sweden was the world's 19th largest tourist market in 2024, generating 18.9 million trips and accounting for 1.2% of total global tourism demand. Around 87.9% of flows are concentrated on the European continent. The main regions sending Swedish tourists to Portugal were Stockholm (share: 77.3%), Gothenburg (19.4%) and others (3.3%).

In turn, 64.7% of trips abroad made by Swedish tourists in 2024 were by air, 29.7% by land and 4.2 by sea.

Perspectives

IMF data indicated that the Swedish economy entered a recession in 2023 as a result of the international situation: war in Ukraine and the Middle East, high central bank interest rates and rising costs of energy and other raw materials and intermediate goods), with an expected drop in GDP of 0.2%, in contrast to 2024 and 2025, where forecasts point to growth of 0.9% and 2.4% respectively.

From 2025 to 2028, international departures by Swedish tourists abroad are expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.1% to reach a total of 20.7 million departures in 2028 (GlobalData projections). Spending by Swedish tourists abroad is expected to increase at a CRGR of 6.2% over the period 2025 to 2028 (GlobalData forecasts).

According to OAG Scheludes Analyser's estimates for the 2025 summer season compared to 2024 for the Swedish market, these reveal the behavior of its main European destinations in terms of the number of available scheduled air seats: Spain: 870,000 seats (-3.4%), Turkey: 400,000 (+2.8%), Greece: 340,000 (+6.1%), Italy: 330,000 (-3.2%), Croatia: 200,000 +4.3%) and Portugal: 90,000 (+3.5%).

According to Google Destination Insights' accommodation searches for March 2025, Spain has a 10.7% share, followed by Italy (8.5%), France (5.5%), Greece (4.0%), Croatia (2.8%), Portugal (2.7%) and Turkey (2.5%).

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