Portugal and More Countries Touch Tourism Goldmine in New Tourist Spending Record

Written By: Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar is a Senior Journalist at Travel and Tour World with more than 10 years of experience in travel and tourism journalism. A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Jadavpur University, he combines strong research, industry knowledge and storytelling expertise to produce engaging, insightful and impactful travel news and fascinating feature stories.

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August 22, 2026 01:50 GMT+5:30

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Portugal and more countries touch a tourism goldmine as new tourist spending records power travel growth, with Spain and Greece also driving Europe’s booming visitor economy.

Portugal and more countries are touching a tourism goldmine as new tourist spending records reshape Europe’s travel economy. Spain leads with huge visitor expenditure, while Portugal records steady growth and Greece delivers a powerful spending surge. Meanwhile, stronger arrivals, higher average spending and resilient international demand are pushing tourism revenues higher. Therefore, the new figures reveal why travel remains a major economic force across Europe. Portugal and more countries are now benefiting from travellers who spend more on hotels, food, experiences and transport. Consequently, this tourism goldmine is creating fresh opportunities, as the new tourist spending record signals continuing momentum.

Europe’s tourism economy is maintaining a positive growth path in 2026, with Spain generating €63.836 billion in international tourist expenditure during the first half, Portugal recording €12.87 billion and Greece achieving the fastest growth among the three, with travel receipts rising 25.8% to €5.32 billion in the first five months. The figures show that travel demand remains resilient despite economic uncertainty, with visitor spending continuing to support national economies, destinations, hotels, airlines and wider tourism businesses across Europe.

Portugal Maintains Steady Growth with €12.87 Billion in First-Half Tourist Spending

Portugal continued its positive tourism trajectory in the first half of 2026, with tourist spending reaching €12.87 billion between January and June, an increase of 4.2% compared with the previous year and further evidence that international demand remains supportive of the country’s travel sector. June generated almost €2.54 billion in tourism revenue, exceeding the approximately €2.47 billion recorded in the same month of 2025, while May reached nearly €2.74 billion, demonstrating how spending strengthened as the European spring and summer travel period developed.

The Portuguese performance is particularly significant because tourism has become a major source of export earnings and supports a broad ecosystem extending from accommodation and aviation to restaurants, attractions, local transport and regional businesses, meaning rising visitor expenditure can create benefits well beyond the country’s principal holiday destinations. Growth of 4.2% may appear more moderate than Spain’s 7.0% increase or Greece’s 25.8% rise, yet Portugal’s ability to add to an already substantial spending base indicates that its tourism market continues to mature, with sustained international interest in Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve and a growing range of cultural, rural and coastal destinations.

Portugal Tourist Spending Rises 4.2% in First Half of 2026 as Tourism Growth Continues

Portugal’s tourism sector continued its steady expansion in the first half of 2026, with international visitors spending €12.87 billion between January and June, marking a 4.2% increase compared with the same period last year. The latest figures underline the continued importance of travel and tourism to the Portuguese economy, with visitor expenditure remaining strong across the country despite normal seasonal fluctuations.

Data published by Banco de Portugal show that tourism remains one of Portugal’s most important export sectors, generating substantial foreign revenue and supporting destinations, accommodation providers, restaurants, transport businesses and other travel-related industries.

Tourist Spending Reaches €12.87 Billion

International tourism revenue reached €12.87 billion during the first six months of 2026, demonstrating continued growth in visitor spending. The increase of 4.2% compared with the first half of 2025 reflects Portugal’s sustained appeal among overseas travellers and the resilience of its tourism industry.

The country has continued to attract visitors seeking beach holidays, city breaks, cultural experiences, food and wine tourism and nature-based travel. Major destinations such as Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve remain important drivers of tourism demand, while smaller regions are also benefiting from efforts to spread visitor spending across the country.

The strong first-half performance provides a positive foundation for the remainder of 2026, particularly as Portugal moves through its busy summer travel season.

June Revenue Remains Higher Than Last Year

Tourism revenue in June reached nearly €2.54 billion, exceeding the approximately €2.47 billion recorded during the same month in 2025. The increase indicates that visitor spending continued to grow even as monthly revenue moved down from the higher level recorded in May.

May generated almost €2.74 billion in tourism revenue, making it one of the strongest months of the first half of the year. June’s lower figure reflects the normal variation in monthly tourism activity, but spending still remained above the level achieved a year earlier.

February recorded the lowest monthly tourism revenue during the six-month period, at €1.50 billion. This pattern highlights the seasonal nature of Portugal’s tourism sector, with revenue generally strengthening as spring and summer travel demand increases.

Tourism Builds on a Record 2025

The latest growth follows a strong performance in 2025, when Portugal’s tourism sector achieved another significant milestone. Banco de Portugal previously reported that the country’s travel and tourism balance increased by €1.1 billion during 2025 to reach €22 billion, representing the highest nominal value recorded in the series.

Tourism receipts reached €29.13 billion last year, rising 5% compared with 2024. At the same time, spending by Portuguese residents travelling abroad increased by 4.5% to €7.16 billion.

The figures demonstrate that Portugal continues to generate a substantial positive balance from international tourism, as money spent by overseas visitors inside the country remains considerably higher than expenditure by Portuguese travellers abroad.

Portugal’s Tourism Outlook Remains Positive

The 4.2% rise in tourist spending during the first half of 2026 suggests that Portugal’s travel and tourism sector remains on a stable growth trajectory. Continued international demand, combined with the country’s diverse tourism offer, is helping destinations maintain revenue growth.

As the summer season progresses, Portugal’s tourism industry will be closely watched to see whether visitor spending can maintain its momentum through the second half of the year. With 2025 setting record nominal values and 2026 already delivering higher first-half revenue, the sector remains a major force supporting Portugal’s economy.

Spain Takes the Lead as International Tourist Spending Reaches €63.836 Billion

Spain remains the standout market in this comparison, with official data from the National Statistics Institute showing that international tourists spent €63.836 billion during January to June 2026, representing a 7.0% increase from the same six-month period in 2025 and underlining the enormous scale of the country’s travel and tourism economy. The June figure alone reached €13.579 billion, up 4.0% year-on-year, while average expenditure stood at €1,393 per tourist and €211 per day, showing that Spain is not only attracting vast numbers of international visitors but is also continuing to generate substantial economic value from each journey.

The performance gives Spain a commanding position among the European countries examined here, although tourism policymakers will continue to face the challenge of balancing strong visitor spending with infrastructure pressure, destination management and the need to distribute travel demand beyond the busiest cities and coastal resorts. Spain’s latest expenditure figures nevertheless provide a powerful indication that international tourism remains one of the country’s major economic engines, while Eurostat data for 2024 had already identified Spain as the EU country with the highest net travel receipts, at €68 billion, illustrating the country’s long-established strength in converting visitor demand into national economic income.

Greece Delivers the Fastest Growth as Travel Receipts Jump 25.8%

Greece produced the strongest growth rate among the three countries based on the latest official periods available, as the Bank of Greece reported that travel receipts rose by €1.09 billion, or 25.8%, to €5.3197 billion during January to May 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier. The increase was driven by a combination of a 20.9% rise in inbound traveller flows and a 4.5% increase in average expenditure per trip, providing particularly encouraging evidence that Greece is benefiting from both more visitors and stronger spending by those travellers.

May alone generated €2.4302 billion in travel receipts, up 10.9% year-on-year, with strong contributions from important source markets including the United Kingdom and the United States, while receipts from German and French visitors also increased during the month according to the central bank’s official analysis. Greece’s rapid expansion shows the continuing power of Mediterranean tourism, but it also suggests that better connectivity, international demand and efforts to extend activity beyond traditional peak periods are helping the country capture more travel spending and reinforce its position in Europe’s highly competitive visitor economy.

What Do the Figures Say About Europe’s Wider Tourism Recovery and Growth?

The country-level results fit into a wider picture of continued European tourism resilience, with the European Travel Commission reporting that international tourist arrivals across Europe increased by 5.0% year-to-date in 2026 compared with 2025, while overnight stays rose by 4.8%, despite geopolitical uncertainty, affordability concerns and aviation disruption affecting some international routes. Nearly 80% of reporting destinations recorded growth, while Greece, Italy and Malta were among the strongest performers for increases in arrivals, indicating that demand remains geographically broad rather than being concentrated entirely in Europe’s largest and most established destinations.

The wider trend also reveals changing traveller priorities, as visitors increasingly look for value, safety, convenient connectivity and opportunities to travel outside the busiest periods, creating fresh opportunities for destinations that can develop shoulder-season products and attract higher-value visitors throughout the year. For the travel industry, this means that tourism growth in 2026 is increasingly about more than headline arrival numbers, because governments and businesses are focusing more closely on visitor expenditure, length of stay, average daily spending and the ability of tourism revenue to support sustainable local economic development.

Country-Wise Comparison Shows Different Strengths Across Southern Europe

Spain leads decisively in absolute visitor expenditure, with €63.836 billion recorded in the first six months of 2026, giving the country the largest spending total among the directly compared markets and demonstrating the exceptional scale of its international tourism infrastructure. Portugal follows with €12.87 billion over the same January-to-June period, while Greece’s latest available official cumulative figure covers January to May and therefore cannot be treated as a perfectly like-for-like six-month comparison, although its €5.3197 billion total and 25.8% growth rate reveal particularly strong momentum.

The comparison therefore presents three different success stories: Spain demonstrates massive scale and continued growth, Portugal shows stable expansion from an already important tourism base, and Greece stands out for rapid percentage growth supported by increased visitor numbers and stronger average expenditure. For airlines, hotel groups, tour operators, destination management organisations and travel technology companies, these differences matter because investment strategies will increasingly depend on whether a market is delivering volume, high-value spending growth or the fastest expansion in demand.

Why Tourist Spending Matters More Than Arrival Numbers Alone

International arrivals remain an important indicator of destination popularity, but tourist spending offers a clearer measure of the direct economic value generated by visitors, particularly when countries are trying to manage overcrowding and encourage higher-quality, more sustainable tourism. A destination may welcome record numbers of travellers without receiving proportionately higher economic benefits if average spending falls, which is why Spain’s expenditure per visitor, Greece’s increase in average expenditure per trip and Portugal’s rising revenue all provide important context beyond simple arrival statistics.

Higher visitor spending can support employment, investment and tax revenues, while also strengthening businesses across hotels, restaurants, airlines, cruise operations, attractions and retail, although the final economic impact depends on how widely revenue is distributed through local and national supply chains. The challenge for European tourism authorities is therefore to maintain growth without allowing destination capacity, environmental pressures or resident concerns to undermine the long-term attractiveness that drives travel demand, making expenditure-based growth an increasingly important metric for policymakers and the wider tourism industry.

Travel Industry Sees Positive Opportunities for the Rest of 2026

The latest results provide a constructive outlook for the remainder of 2026, particularly as European destinations move through the important summer season and seek to convert strong demand into higher revenues across accommodation, aviation and destination services. Spain entered the peak period after achieving 7.0% first-half expenditure growth, Portugal maintained its steady 4.2% expansion and Greece recorded an exceptional 25.8% increase through May, creating a positive foundation even though the reporting periods and statistical methodologies differ between countries.

European tourism nevertheless faces continuing risks from inflation, geopolitical developments, transport disruption and changing consumer confidence, which means strong early-year spending figures cannot guarantee that every destination will maintain the same pace throughout the full year. Yet the European Travel Commission’s finding that arrivals and overnight stays continued to rise across much of the region suggests that travel remains a major consumer priority, while the country-level spending data indicate that visitors are still contributing significantly to tourism economies despite a more selective approach to choosing destinations and trips.

Anup Kumar Keshan Sees Strong Potential in Europe’s Tourism Momentum

“These latest figures show that European tourism is entering a new phase in which success is increasingly measured not simply by how many people travel, but by the economic value created for destinations, communities and businesses. Spain’s enormous spending base, Portugal’s steady progress and Greece’s remarkable growth demonstrate the diversity and resilience of Europe’s travel market, and the outlook remains encouraging for airlines, hotels, tour operators and destination partners. The most positive development is that travellers continue to prioritise meaningful journeys, while destinations are gaining opportunities to improve quality, extend seasons and create a more sustainable, inclusive and economically valuable tourism future across Europe.”

What Comes Next for European Tourist Spending?

The next major test will be whether Europe can sustain this momentum after the peak summer season, particularly as travellers become more price-conscious and destinations compete for demand during autumn and winter, when cultural events, city breaks, business travel and warmer southern destinations can play a larger role. Countries that improve air connectivity, invest in visitor experiences, offer competitive value and manage capacity effectively could be well placed to capture a larger share of international tourism expenditure, especially as travellers increasingly seek flexible and year-round options.

For now, the evidence from Spain, Portugal and Greece points in one clear direction: Europe continues to attract significant international spending, and the continent’s tourism industry remains capable of expanding even in a more uncertain global environment. The figures should be interpreted carefully because the latest reporting periods are not identical, but the combined data reveal robust visitor demand, growing economic contribution and substantial opportunities for travel businesses that can adapt to changing consumer priorities while helping destinations deliver sustainable growth.

The cause behind Portugal and more countries touching this tourism goldmine is clear: international travel demand remains strong, visitors are spending more, and destinations continue attracting travellers throughout the year. The answer is that new tourist spending records are being driven by both rising visitor numbers and stronger expenditure per trip, although growth differs between countries. Spain demonstrates enormous scale, Portugal shows steady expansion, and Greece delivers particularly rapid growth in travel receipts. The reason is Europe’s diverse tourism offer, strong connectivity and enduring global appeal. As a result, Portugal and more countries could continue turning tourism growth into significant economic gains.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which European country has the highest tourist spending in this comparison?

Spain has the highest tourist expenditure among the countries compared, with international visitors spending €63.836 billion during January to June 2026, according to official data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute.

Which country recorded the fastest growth in tourist spending?

Greece recorded the fastest growth rate among these countries, with travel receipts rising 25.8% to €5.3197 billion during January to May 2026, according to the Bank of Greece.

How much did tourists spend in Portugal in the first half of 2026?

Tourists spent €12.87 billion in Portugal between January and June 2026, representing growth of 4.2% compared with the same period in 2025.

Why are the country totals not perfectly comparable?

Spain and Portugal’s figures cover the first six months of 2026, while Greece’s latest official cumulative data available in this comparison cover January to May, and countries may also use different statistical methodologies for measuring visitor expenditure.

Is European tourism still growing in 2026?

Yes. The European Travel Commission reported that international tourist arrivals to Europe increased by 5.0% year-to-date in 2026 compared with 2025, while overnight stays rose by 4.8%, indicating continued resilience across much of the region.