Tourism bosses confident Americans will continue to visit Portugal

Hotel and tourism bosses remain confident that US holiday-makers will continue to visit Portugal despite the volatility and uncertainty caused by US tariffs threatening to hit the pockets of US consumers.

Both the Tourism Confederation of Portugal (CTP) and the Hotel Association of Portugal (AHP) say they are confident that the flow of tourists from the US will continue, and highlight the importance of the US market because Americans have a high purchasing power.

Cristina Siza Vieira, Executive Vice President of the AHP said that “expectations were positive” and that the outlook for 2025 was one of “very strong growth”.

“There is no need to sound alarm bells yet”, she said, adding that there had been “no signs of a slowdown from US visitors”.

Francisco Calheiros, president of the CTP said. “There is not, at the moment, any reduction regarding tourism forecasts for the US market, so we are expecting the growth predicted”.

The “positive outlook” announced by Cristina Siza Vieira can be seen in revenues and room bookings – both areas where the presence of US tourists in Portugal has been strong.

“We’re not expecting a fall, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens”, she said, adding that Portugal was already “a destination in itself” and not just one country on an itinerary of European countries that Americans like to visit.

“While for several years Portugal was seen as a layover and short break visit on the way to other European countries, today, it is a holiday destination in itself where Americans come to spend their dollars”, she said.

This phenomenon was also reflected in the number of new routes and additional flights between Portugal and cities in the United States, particularly from Lisbon and Faro that has enabled a greater flow of tourists.

“TAP and American Airlines, for example, continue to be optimistic that flight bookings to Portugal from the US will continue strong and are just two examples of airlines that have opened up new routes to the US and Portugal”, said Cristina Siza Vieira.

According to data from Portugal’s National Statistics Institute (INE) and the Bank of Portugal (BdP) the US market contributed almost 5.2 million overnight stays in 2024 – an increase of 12.1% on 2023.

And last year Portugal welcomed 2.3 million US tourists, an increase of 11.7% on 2023. These US tourists spent €2.87Bn in Portugal, a year-on-year increase of 13.9%, meaning that the US is now Portugal’s fourth largest market in terms of tourism revenues, having overtaken the Spanish.

However, Francisco Calheiros of the CTP says the sector has to look at developments over the medium term to see what decisions will be taken by the US administration.

“If common sense and reason don’t prevail on this problem, the consequence could be an economic crisis for the US market and for US citizens that could begin to feel a lack of purchasing power, reduced consumption and, as a result, less financial capacity to travel.”