Lisbon, Aug. 3, 2026 (Lusa) - Tourism contributed €36.2 billion to the Portuguese economy in 2025, accounting for 11.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 0.3 percentage points to real economic growth, Statistics Portugal (INE) announced on Monday.
According to the results of INE's Tourism Satellite Account, «in 2025, tourism expenditure is estimated to have made a total contribution (direct and indirect) of 11.8% (€36.2 billion) to GDP and 11.4% (€30.4 billion) to the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the domestic economy».
Compared with 2024, GDP and total GVA from tourism increased by 5.3% and 5.5%, respectively, in nominal terms.
Although tourism's contribution to real GDP growth remains positive, the INE notes that «it has been declining»: After accounting for 3.6 percentage points of a 7.0% change in GDP volume in 2022 and 1.2 percentage points of 3.1% growth in 2023, this contribution fell to 0.4 percentage points in 2024 and 0.3 percentage points in 2025.
In 2025, the direct GVA generated by tourism (VABGT) recorded a nominal change equal to that of national GVA (5.6 %) , whilst tourism consumption within the economic territory (CTTE) increased by 4.9 %, below the nominal change in national GDP (5.9 %).
Estimated at €21.473 billion, GVA from tourism accounted for 8.1% of national GVA in 2025, maintaining its relative importance over the 2023–2025 period, with CTTE totalling €49.35 billion, accounting for 16.1% of GDP, a «slight decrease» from the all-time high reached in 2023 (16.3%) compared with 16.2% in 2024.
In 2023, full-time employment in tourism-related activities recorded «significant growth» of 10.6%, outpacing the domestic economy (3.8%), and accounted for 10.4% of employment in Portugal (9.8% in 2022).
Paid employment in these sectors rose by 11.0%, whilst unpaid employment grew by 8.6%, compared with growth rates in the domestic economy of 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively.
According to INE, this momentum reflects the ongoing recovery of tourism following the markedly negative impact of the pandemic.
Similarly, all activities characteristic of tourism showed growth in both employment and wages, resulting in a «significant increase» in total employment (10.6%) and an even more pronounced rise in wages (21.6%).
In terms of employment, the sectors recording the highest growth were «other transport» (18.9%), «rental of transport equipment» (18.6%) and «hotels and similar accommodation» (15.2%), whilst in terms of wages, air transport activities showed the most significant growth (54.5%), «reflecting the shift away from the restrictive wage policies adopted by the sector during the pandemic».
Although average pay per employee in tourism-related activities rose by 9.8% in 2023, it remained below the national average, corresponding to 92.8% of the total national average pay.
The statistics released today by INE also compare Portugal with other European countries in terms of tourism's share of GDP, indicating that, in 2024, the country «remained among the leaders» in terms of the share of CTTE and VABGT in the domestic economy.
Thus, in that year, «Portugal retained second place in terms of the relative importance of tourism demand in GDP (16.2%), behind Iceland, which retained first place (19.2%)».
According to the statistical institute, «with the exception of Finland (-3.1%), the remaining countries recorded increases in CTTE, reflecting the sector's momentum in the post-pandemic period», with Portugal recording a 6.8% increase and the Czech Republic taking a prominent position with a rate of 10.7%, the highest among the group of countries for which data is available for 2024.
According to Eurostat, the relative share of GVA in the tourism sector within the Portuguese economy's GVA (8.1% in 2024) was surpassed only by that of Croatia (10.5% in 2022).
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