Tourism Consumption within the Economic Territory (CTTE) reached 49,350 million euros, 4.9% higher than in the previous year, and was equivalent to 16.1% of GDP, whilst the total contribution of tourism, taking into account both the direct and indirect effects of the activity, amounted to 36,169 million euros, or 11.8% of national GDP. The two percentages reflect different perspectives: the first places the scale of tourism expenditure in relation to GDP, whilst the second measures the value generated by this demand in the economy.
Preliminary results from the Tourism Satellite Account show that the sector continued to grow and reached new nominal highs, although its growth rate has now aligned more closely with that of the economy as a whole.
Tourism growth approaches the pace of the economy
GVA in Tourism grew by 5.6%, in line with national GVA, whilst Tourism-Related Gross Value Added (CTTE) increased by 4.9%, slightly below GDP. This trend was reflected in the stability of the main indicators: GVA from tourism remained at 8.1% of national GVA, tourism’s contribution to GDP stood at 11.8% and CTTE at 16.1%.
Despite growth in absolute terms, with tourism expenditure rising by 2,313 million euros in 2025, tourism followed the trend of the wider economy without increasing its relative importance. The contribution to GDP growth was 0.3 percentage points, down from 0.4 points in 2024 and 1.2 points in 2023, reflecting a return to normality following the post-pandemic recovery phase.
Economic impact extends to other sectors
Of the 30,358 million euros of total GVA associated with tourism in 2025, 21,473 million were generated directly by activities catering to visitor demand, whilst 8,885 million resulted from indirect effects on the respective suppliers. These effects account for around 29 per cent of tourism’s total GVA and reflect the capacity of tourism demand to generate value in sectors such as agriculture, industry, energy, construction, transport, trade and services.
This estimate highlights a dimension of tourism that is not captured solely by the results of activities directly engaged with by visitors: a significant part of its economic impact is spread across the production chains that supply the goods and services necessary for tourism.
External demand continues to play a central role
The final figures for 2023, the most recent to include detailed information, show that international demand accounted for the majority of tourism expenditure in Portugal. Spending on inbound tourism, corresponding to consumption by non-resident visitors, reached 28,686 million euros and accounted for 65.2% of CTTE, whilst domestic tourism accounted for 30.4%. A comparison of this figure with the total value of Portuguese exports of goods and services, following adjustments made by Statistics Portugal, shows that inbound tourism accounted for 22.5% of exports in 2023. Foreign markets are therefore doubly important: they underpin the bulk of tourism expenditure and generate nearly a quarter of the Portuguese economy’s export revenue.
Accommodation accounted for 26.8% of expenditure on inbound tourism, followed by food and drink services at 25.6%, and passenger transport at 19.7%. Around a quarter of expenditure was on related and non-specific products, reflecting the distribution of international visitors’ spending across retail and other services.
Employment grows and wages approach the national average
In 2023, the volume of employment in tourism-related activities stood at 545,755 full-time equivalents (FTEs), a unit that converts the work carried out into the equivalent of full-time annual jobs. This figure increased by 10.6% compared with 2022 and accounted for 10.4% of national employment measured in the same unit.
Tourism-related activities also supply goods and services to residents in their usual environment; therefore, not all employment recorded in these activities is associated with tourism. Taking into account the proportion of output consumed by visitors, Statistics Portugal estimated that the actual tourism component corresponded to around 311,000 FTE, or 57.0% of the total.
Average pay per worker rose by 9.8%, exceeding the trend observed across the economy as a whole, and increased from 91.1% to 92.8% of the national average. This trend revealed significant differences between sectors: in catering and related activities, which accounted for around 266,000 FTE, average pay stood at 75% of the national average, whilst in air transport it was 194.9% above that benchmark.
