GUESTS
2.3 M
+0.8%YoY
revised change
Market Brief · MONTHLY BRIEF
Tourism & Hospitality Brief
Portugal | March 2026
Portugal, March 2026: overnight stays +1.1% and total revenue +6.1% year on year.
Monthly · Historical edition · Published on · Revised data · Paulo Braga, Hospitality Real Estate Advisor
Language EN
Historical edition, published on 4 September 2026 with data for March 2026.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Non-residents carried March as residents pulled back
Statistics Portugal headlined the month on non-residents driving tourism activity. Overnight stays reached 5.6 million (+1.1%) and guests 2.3 million (+0.8%), in a month shaped by the moving calendar, with the Carnival and Easter periods.
Total revenue came to EUR 432.9 million (+6.1%) and room revenue to EUR 319.2 million (+5.6%), with ADR at EUR 98.6 (+2.7%), RevPAR at EUR 49.7 (+1.8%) and net bed occupancy at 39.5%, down 0.7 pp.
Operators charged more per bed and filled fewer of them.
KEY INDICATORS
Revenue up, occupancy down
OVERNIGHT STAYS
5.6 M
+1.1%YoY
revised change
TOTAL REVENUE
EUR 432.9 M
+6.1%YoY
revised change
ROOM REVENUE
EUR 319.2 M
+5.6%YoY
revised change
REVPAR
EUR 49.7
+1.8%YoY
revised change
NET BED OCCUPANCY
39.5%
-0.7 ppYoY
revised change
Reading: total revenue advanced 6.1% and overnight stays 1.1%. With net bed occupancy 0.7 pp lower and room occupancy 0.5 pp lower, the extra revenue came from ADR (+2.7%) and from swapping residents for non-residents.
DEMAND
Growth came entirely from foreign markets
RESIDENT OVERNIGHT STAYS
1.6 M
-3.1%YoY
revised change
NON-RESIDENT STAYS
4.0 M
+2.9%YoY
Non-resident overnight stays increased 2.9% to 4.0 million, while resident stays came to 1.6 million, 3.1% lower. Among the markets shown, Ireland (+16.2%) and Spain (+14.0%) grew most, ahead of Germany (+9.2%), the United States (+5.1%) and the United Kingdom (+2.2%); only Brazil fell, by 7.0%.
Change in overnight stays by source market
% · March 2026, year-on-year change
Ireland
+16.2%
Spain
+14.0%
Germany
+9.2%
United States
+5.1%
United Kingdom
+2.2%
Brazil
-7.0%
REGIONS
The North and Alentejo led; West and Tagus Valley fell 15.7%
Change in overnight stays by region
% · March 2026, year-on-year change
North
+8.5%
Alentejo
+7.2%
Algarve
+3.9%
Greater Lisbon
+1.0%
Madeira
-1.1%
Azores
-1.3%
Setúbal Peninsula
-6.0%
Centre
-8.1%
West and Tagus Valley
-15.7%
The largest overnight-stay increases were in the North (+8.5%) and Alentejo (+7.2%), both pulled by non-residents (+12.0% and +13.5%). The Algarve rose 3.9% and Greater Lisbon 1.0%, the latter with residents 2.6% lower. In the other direction, West and Tagus Valley (-15.7%) and the Centre (-8.1%) posted the sharpest decreases.
OPERATING PERFORMANCE
Revenue grew on price and outside the room
Portugal, tourist accommodation establishments.
ADR
EUR 98.6
+2.7%YoY
revised change
REVPAR
EUR 49.7
+1.8%YoY
revised change
NET BED OCCUPANCY
39.5%
-0.7 ppYoY
revised change
NET ROOM OCCUPANCY
50.5%
-0.5 ppYoY
TOTAL REVENUE
EUR 432.9 M
+6.1%YoY
revised change
ROOM REVENUE
EUR 319.2 M
+5.6%YoY
revised change
ADR reached EUR 98.6 (+2.7%) and RevPAR EUR 49.7 (+1.8%). Net bed occupancy stood at 39.5%, down 0.7 pp, and net room occupancy at 50.5%, down 0.5 pp. Total revenue (EUR 432.9 million, +6.1%) grew faster than room revenue (EUR 319.2 million, +5.6%): non-room revenue carried more weight. With both occupancy rates lower, the gain came from price and not from filling beds better.
REAL ESTATE LENS
Tourism & Hospitality Real Estate Lens
Growth bought from foreign markets
Fact
Non-residents +2.9%, residents -3.1%, total revenue +6.1%, ADR +2.7% and RevPAR +1.8%, with net bed occupancy down 0.7 pp.
Interpretation
Revenue per available room still rises, but the domestic base shrank and the month carried two moving holidays. Asset performance now leans on source markets that switch destination from one year to the next.
Implication
Separate the calendar effect from the market effect before projecting the rest of the year. Where the resident is the core client, revise the April forecast; where the guests are Irish, Spanish or German, the question is at what price that demand comes back.
OUTLOOK
Three signals to watch in April
- Whether resident overnight stays return to growth after -3.1%.
- How much of Easter falls in April and what is left of the March base.
- Whether West and Tagus Valley recovers from a 15.7% fall.
SOURCES
- Primary source
Statistics Portugal, Tourism Activity - Flash Estimates, March 2026, released 30 April 2026.
- Complementary sources
- Statistics Portugal, Tourism Activity - Flash Estimates, April 2026, released 29 May 2026. Year-on-year changes revised for the preceding month.
- Release date
- Data status
Revised data
- Notes
Levels from the INE flash release of 30 April 2026; year-on-year changes revised in the release of 29 May 2026.