The contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the Portuguese national economy will reach €62.7 billion in 2025, 38% above the 2019 milestone, representing 21.5% of the country’s GDP, according to the latest Economic Impact Research (EIR) compiled by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in collaboration with Oxford Economics.
The sector is expected to support 1.2 million jobs in the country, almost one in four jobs, 200,000 more than the previous record.
Further strengthening of both international and domestic demand is forecast for 2025, with international visitor spending estimated at €33.1 billion and domestic spending at €22.9 billion, representing an increase of 24.2% and 59.5% respectively compared to 2019 levels.
In 2024, the sector contributed €60.6 billion to the Portuguese economy, or 21.3% of GDP, and supported 1.2 million jobs, or 23% of total employment. International visitor spending was €31.8 billion, while domestic spending was €22.2 billion, marking a double record.
WTTC predicts that by 2035, Portugal’s travel and tourism sector will contribute more than €74.6 billion, or 22.6%, to national GDP, supporting 1.4 million jobs. International visitor spending is expected to reach €40.6 billion, while domestic spending is expected to reach €25.8 billion.
At the European Union level, the sector contributed €1.8 trillion to the region’s GDP in 2024, representing over 10% of the EU economy, up 6% from 2019 levels. Employment in the sector increased by 4.7% year-on-year, to 24.6 million jobs, representing one in nine jobs.
By the end of 2025, WTTC forecasts a contribution of €1.9 trillion, or 10.5%, to the EU economy and 25.7 million people employed in the sector, with a share of 12% of total employment in the EU.
