Portugal is preparing to present an ambitious 10-year strategy for the development of tourism at the end of 2025, with the aim of joining the top ten of the Travel & Tourism Development Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The new “Tourism Strategy 2035” aspires to ensure a “balanced and coherent development of tourism” throughout the country, as stated by Carlos Abade, president of the organization Visit Portugal. Currently, Portugal is ranked 12th in the index, behind Canada and Switzerland, which it aims to surpass within the next three years.
The Travel & Tourism Development Index, published since 2022, is an evolution of the well-known Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index and assesses the policies and infrastructure that enable the sustainable and resilient development of tourism, as well as the overall contribution of the sector to the economic and social development of each country.
According to Abade, Portugal’s new strategy will be based on 12 sub-thematic agendas, organized around four main policy axes. The agendas will cover areas such as climate change, education and training of tourism professionals, sustainable mobility, and strengthening air connectivity.
The four main pillars of the strategy include:
Strengthening tourism’s relationship with local communities, so that development benefits residents and visitors alike.
Connecting tourism with local production and industry, through thematic routes such as wine tourism and gastronomic tourism.
Specialization and diversification of origin markets, with an emphasis on culture, art and gastronomy.
Exploiting new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to improve the traveler’s experience and the efficiency of the sector.
“We want to improve the quality of the experience for those who visit Portugal, but at the same time the quality of life for those who live here,” Abade stressed.
Portugal recorded more than 30 million visitors in 2024, of which 2.5 million came from the United Kingdom. Tourism revenues amounted to 28 billion euros, a performance that exceeded the initial target for 2027. From the United Kingdom market alone, revenues amounted to more than 4 billion euros.
For 2025, arrivals from the United Kingdom show a marginal increase of 0.2% year-on-year, indicating a stable momentum in one of the most important markets for the Portuguese tourism industry.
With the “Tourism Strategy 2035”, Portugal attempts to move from the phase of quantitative growth to the phase of qualitative and sustainable development, focusing on a tourism that offers long-term benefits for visitors, businesses and local communities.
