Markets
United States of America
Market Characterization for Portugal

In 2024, the United States positioned itself as the 4th largest tourist market for Portugal according to the overnight stays indicator (share: 9.2%) and the 3rd largest in terms of guests (11.8%). In 2024, the US market recorded around 2,293.3 thousand guests (var.24/23: +11.9%) who generated 5,202.2 thousand overnight stays (var.24/23: +12.3%). It stands out as the 4th market in terms of tourism revenue with €2,868.0 million, up 13.9% on 2023.

In terms of overnight stays, Greater Lisbon was the main destination for North American tourists visiting Portugal (49.5%), followed by the North (20.8%) and the Algarve (10.5%). In terms of type, overnight stays in hotels predominated (72.0%), followed by local accommodation (13.5%) and apartment hotels (5.8%).

Portugal ranks 20th in total outbound air flows from the market; in this period, the airlines that transported North American tourists to Portugal were: TAP (share: 38.4%), United Airlines (19.0%), Delta Airlines (12.0%), American Airlines (7.4%), Sata International (6.2%). The majority of operations originate in the cities of New York (share: 29.1%), followed by Boston (15.5%), Washington (8.7%).

It should be noted that North American tourists spend an average of 13.3 nights in Portugal (ForwardKeys); the majority buy direct airline tickets (share: 71.5%); and travel as a couple (45.1%).

According to SIBS data, Greater Lisbon will account for 53.5% of the 836.6 million euros in card purchases originating in the United States in 2024. The North comes in 2nd place (share: 18.0%), followed by the Algarve (10.1%).

2024 Position | Year-over-Year Change
Guests 2.3M 3º | 11.9%
Overnight stays 5.2M 4º | 12.3%
Tourism revenue 2868.4M€ 4º | 13.9%
Disembarked passengers 1.2M 9º | 17.8%

Market Profile
Change 24/23
340.1 M Population
1.0 %
85372.7 USD GDP per Capita
4.6 %
2.9 % Inflation Rate
-1.2 pp
18.1 % Savings Rate
0.0 pp

The USA is a country with 336.48 million inhabitants in 2024 and was the world's 1st largest economy.

According to Globaldata, the USA was the world's 2nd largest source market for tourists, generating 142.0 million trips and accounting for 8.9% of total global tourism demand. Around 30.1% of flows are concentrated on the European continent. The 3 main regions sending North American tourists abroad were Florida with a 16.8% share, followed by California (11.8%) and New York (11.4%).

In turn, 56.4% of trips abroad made by North American tourists in 2024 were by land; 39.9% were by air; and 3.7% were by sea.

Perspectives

The IMF's projections indicate that the US economy grew by 2.9% in 2023, despite the unfavorable international climate, especially the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, rising energy costs and other raw materials and intermediate goods. Growth of 2.8% and 2.2% is expected for 2024 and 2025 respectively.

According to GlobalData, between 2025 and 2028, international departures by US tourists abroad are expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9%, reaching 172.4 million departures in 2028. Spending by US tourists abroad is expected to increase at a CAGR of 8.1% over the same period. Forwardkeys forecasts that passenger flights from the US market to Portugal will grow by 5.2% year-on-year between June and November 20225.

OAG Scheludes Analyser's estimates for the 2025 summer season (April 1 to September 30, 2025), compared to the summer of 2024 for the North American market, show the behavior of its main European destinations in terms of the number of scheduled air seats available on direct flights from the USA: United Kingdom: 7.2 million seats (-2.2%), Germany: 3.9 million (+1.2%), France: 3.2 million (+2.4%), Italy: 2.3 million (+8.5%) and Spain: 1.9 million (+5.1%).

According to Google Destination Insights flight searches for the first four months of 2025, in terms of the number of searches in the main European markets, the United Kingdom has a 7.6% share, France (4.2%), Italy (4.0%), Spain (2.9%) and Germany (1.5%). Europe has a total share of 20.3%.

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