Foreigners spend €5.2Bn in Portugal in 1Q – Americans and Brits top the league of big spenders

Tourism continues to be one of the driving forces of the Portuguese economy, and it was the first time that more than €2Bn billion were raked in for March.

The British continue to be the biggest spenders in the tourism sector, but they have been losing ground to German tourists and cruise ships.

In fact, Foreign tourists visiting Portugal contributed a total of €5.2Bn to the country’s coffers during the first quarter. This represents a 3.7% increase compared to the same three months of the previous year, when foreigners spent €5.011Bn.

During this period, and according to data released by the Bank of Portugal, the highest value was reached in March, at €2.1Bn.

This was also the first time that tourism exports (revenue obtained when an individual residing in another country travels to Portugal) exceeded the €2Bn mark so early in the year. March’s revenue alone showed a year-on-year growth of 6.3%.

In January and February of this year, revenues of €1.596Bn and €1.50Bn were obtained, representing year-on-year increases of 2.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

The largest share came from European citizens. These tourists spent a total of €3.6Bn visiting Portugal during the first quarter, with March representing the largest amount. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, this represents an increase of 2.2%.

Similar to the number of guests, the British contribute the most to revenue from Europe. UK tourists spent €660.41 million in the first quarter alone, still a slight increase of 1.8%. Germans came in second with spending of €629.81 million, 5.4% more than in the same quarter of the previous year.

Similarly, Spaniards contributed €527 million to Portuguese coffers, 6.6% more than in the first three months of 2025, while the French spent €453.6 million, a decrease of 6.5% compared to the €483 million they spent last year. The Irish, who have been standing out in terms of the number of guests and overnight stays, spent €179.5 million during the holidays between January and March, an increase of 4%.

But the Americans were the real big spenders with €1,107.6 million in Portugal, 10.3% more than the €993.7 million they spent in the same period last year!