Tourism in Portugal is guided by the 2027 Tourism Strategy. The Strategy is a ten‑year plan launched in 2017, which aims to drive economic, social and environmental development throughout the country. The strategy is built around the following goals:
Offer a strategic framework to be used as a guideline for national tourism for the next 10 years.
Ensure stability and acceptance of commitments regarding the strategic options for national tourism.
Promote integration of sectoral policies.
Generate ongoing joint action between tourism stakeholders.
Act with a sense of strategy in the present and in the short to medium-term.
To achieve the goals of the Strategy, shorter-term action plans have been built, including the Action Plan Reactivate Tourism | Building the Future and the Sustainable Tourism Plan 2020-23.
The Action Plan aims to encourage the recovery of the national tourism sector. It has four axes - supporting companies, promoting safety, generating business and building a future - and is fully integrated with the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Portugal 2030 Strategy. The Action Plan is composed of specific and measurable actions that, in the short, medium and long-term, aim to transform the sector to create more value, significantly contributing to GDP growth and a fairer distribution of wealth. This plan sets the target of exceeding EUR 27 billion in tourist receipts by 2027.
Several programmes have been launched to meet the objectives and targets of the Action Plan, including:
Empresas Turismo 360º, or Tourism Companies 360°, which encourages companies to undertake sustainability reporting. The programme provides technical support for companies to integrate ESG measures based on performance. This programme was developed in partnership with the private sector and the banking system and is supported by a dedicated platform (Forest) for businesses to report their ESG performance.
A revision of Executive orders on Tourist Accommodation and Local Accommodation, including mandatory sustainability requirements focusing on energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste management, as well as an inclusion of sustainability criteria into tourism specific financing instruments managed by Turismo de Portugal.
The Agenda for the Tourism Professions, a strategic agenda made up of 20 measures to increase qualifications, the attractiveness of professions and the number of professionals. To attract workers and promote growth, the agenda has four main initiatives: attracting and retaining talent, increasing training and knowledge, generating networks amongst similar sectors and promoting diversity.
Immigration agreements to help fill the shortage of workers in the tourism sector. Portugal has recently made an agreement with Portuguese speaking countries, to facilitate mobility between member countries, through a simplified visa regime. This will help the sector fill additional vacancies.
The Tourism Agenda for the Inland Territory will invest in companies, qualifying professionals and projecting the interior and its offer (see box below).
The creation of Regional Tourism Observatories in each of the seven regional DMOs, in partnership with the UNWTO and its INSTO network of Observatories, bringing universities and knowledge centres closer to destination management entities.
At the end of 2023, Portugal launched a new international marketing campaign, #It’s not tourism. It’s futourism. It is a campaign that sets 12 New Year’s resolutions to meet the changing needs for the tourist of the future and aims to mobilise people to change their way of travel. This campaign is aligned with the national strategy and calls on everyone to join Visit Portugal on a transformative journey towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and responsible tourism. The #Futourism movement, invites future tourists to turn their trips into more authentic and sustainable experiences, resulting in a positive impact for territories, the environment, and the communities.
