Markets
United Kingdom

Market Characterization for Portugal

In 2024, the United Kingdom positioned itself as the 1st tourist market for destination Portugal measured by the indicator overnight stays (share: 18.1%) and guests (12.7%). In 2024, the UK market recorded around 2,461.1 thousand guests (var.24/23: +4.3%) who generated 10,220.6 thousand overnight stays (var.24/23: +3.0%). It stands out as the 1st market in tourist receipts with €4 117.8 million (share: 14.9%), 6.5% more than in 2023.

In terms of overnight stays, the Algarve was the main destination for British tourists visiting Portugal (57.6%), followed by Madeira (19.1%) and Greater Lisbon (13.0%). In terms of type, overnight stays in hotels predominated (51.8%), followed by apartment hotels (19.5%) and tourist apartments (11.3%).

Portugal ranks 5th in total outbound air flows from the market; in this period, the airlines that transported British tourists to Portugal were: EasyJet (share: 31.2%), Ryanair (28.3%), Jet2 (15.9%), British Airways (12.0%) and TAP (7.3%). Most operations originate in the cities of London (share: 51.5%), followed by Manchester (11.4%), Bristol (7.2%), Birmingham (5.3%), Belfast (3.8%) and Liverpool (3.7%).

It should be noted that the British tourist has an average stay of 10.9 nights in Portugal (ForwardKeys); the majority buy airline tickets through direct channels (share: 94.3%); and travel as a couple (37.0%).

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%).

2025 Position | Year-over-Year Change
Guests 2.5M 1º | 0.1%
Overnight stays 10.1M 1º | -1.5%
Tourism revenue 4276.1M€ 1º | 3.5%
Disembarked passengers 4.9M 1º | 2.4%

Market Profile

Change 24/23
69.2 M Population
1.1 %
58880.5 USD GDP per Capita
2.4 %
2.5 % Inflation Rate
-4.8 pp
17.0 % Savings Rate
0.1 pp

The United Kingdom is a country in northwestern Europe with 5.38 million inhabitants in 2024 and was the world's 6th largest economy.

According to Globaldata, in 2024, the United Kingdom was the world's 4th largest source market for tourists, generating 99.8 million trips and concentrating a 6.3% share of total global tourism demand. Around 75.9% of flows are concentrated on the European continent. The main regions sending British tourists to Portugal were: London (share: 51.5%), Manchester (11.4%), Bristol (7.2%), Birmingham (5.3%), Belfast (3.8%), Liverpool (3.7%), Nottingham (3.2%), Edinburgh (3.1%), Leeds (2.6%), Glasgow (2.5%), Newcastle (2.0%) and other cities (3.7%).

In turn, 85.2% of trips abroad made by British tourists in 2024 were by air, 8.2% by sea and 6.6% by land (use of the Eurotunnel).

Team

Info.UK@turismodeportugal.pt

Perspectives

The global economy is once again at a highly uncertain juncture, according to the latest data from the IMF, which cites that the accumulated risks of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the Persian Gulf (Israel), rising interest rates and spending restrictions led to the British economy growing by 0.3% in 2023. Growth of 1.1% is forecast for 2024 and 1.5% for 2025.

From 2025 to 2028, international departures from the UK are expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.9% to reach a total of 112.0 million departures in 2028 (GlobalData projections). Spending by British tourists abroad is expected to increase at a CRGR of 6.0% over the period 2025 to 2028 (GlobalData forecasts).

Forwardkeys data shows that the forecasts for flights in terms of passengers from the British market to Portugal, for the period from March to August 2025, point to an increase of 2.3% compared to the previous year.

According to OAG Scheludes Analyser data for the 2024 summer season compared to the 2023 season for the British market (between April 1 and September 30), this reveals the behavior of its main European destinations in terms of the number of scheduled air seats available: Spain: 15.1 million seats (+8.5%), Italy: 5.0 million (+6.4%), Greece: 4.9 million (+7.4%), Turkey: 4.8 million (+19.1%), France: 4.7 million (+3.8%) and Portugal: 3.8 million (-0.3%).

That year, outbound flows from the UK to its main top 10 destinations were as follows: Spain ranked 1st with a 19.8% share, followed by France (11.9%), Italy (6.6%), Ireland (5.1%), USA (4.9%), Turkey (4.4%), Germany (3.4%), the Netherlands (2.7%) and Portugal (2.6%).