Portuguese trips abroad hit historic highs
Last year, trips abroad by residents grew by 21.5%. Spain, France and Italy were the most popular destinations.
Aude Guerrucci/Reuters
In the coming years, the trend will be for an increase in demand for destinations further north in Europe.
Last year, trips taken by residents grew by 4.6% and reached a total of 23.7 million. However, they have not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, having registered a drop of 3.2% compared to 2019 figures, according to data released this Friday by INE.
Travel to national destinations grew 2.4%, while travel abroad grew 21.5%, reaching an all-time high.
Spain (41.6%), France (10.1%) and Italy (6.9%) remained the main destination countries for residents traveling abroad. ANDAmong trips made abroad, those to European Union countries increased by 22%, representing 79% of the total.
At a national level, the Center region maintained its first position as the main destination, concentrating 29.8% of the total despite having fallen by 5 percentage points, followed by the North region (23.7% of the total), which gained representation compared to the previous year. The Algarve represented 12.5%, a drop compared to the 13.4% recorded in 2022.
Free private accommodation increased in importance, remaining the main means of accommodation used (61.3%). The average duration of trips was 4.08 nights. In 2022, the average stood at 4.18 nights. The main reason for traveling was “leisure, recreation or vacation” (50.1%), corresponding to 11.9 million trips, an increase of 4.1%. “Visiting family or friends” was the second main reason, originating 38.2% of trips.
Business trips represented 7.2% of the total (1.7 million trips), having increased by 4.9% compared to 2022. However, as INE highlights, it was in this segment that the biggest decrease was recorded compared to the period pre-pandemic (-15.5%).
