Business 21 July 2026

Portugal is heading for another record tourism summer — and now revenue beats bed counts

Portugal keeps breaking tourism records in 2026: over 5.8 million guests in the first quarter alone and revenue near one billion euros. And 62% of experts expect even more takings this summer.

Portuguese tourism is on course for another record summer — but the 2026 story is no longer just about filling hotels. It’s about how much each bed earns. And there, Portugal is climbing faster than its guest numbers are.

In the first quarter alone, tourist accommodation took in 5.8 million guests and 13.6 million overnight stays, up 1.5% and 1.3% on the year before. Modest rises on paper, yet revenue jumped towards one billion euros at the start of the year — a sign that prices, not just occupancy, are driving the tab.

How much does tourism earn Portugal?

A lot, and increasingly more per guest. Revenue growth is outpacing the growth in visitor numbers — the so-called price effect: the tourists who do arrive spend more per night. For an economy where tourism carries a huge slice of GDP, that’s the metric worth watching.

What are hotels expecting this summer?

Optimism. An industry barometer shows 62.2% of experts expect growth in takings from foreign tourists this summer, with strong prospects for guests, overnight stays and occupancy. International markets remain the big engine.

It isn’t all smooth: the cost of living, city housing prices and the running debate over short-term rentals keep squeezing residents. But in pure sector terms, 2026 looks set to join the list of record years. Up-to-date official figures live on Turismo de Portugal’s TravelBI portal. To track how this meets rates and currencies, see our markets tracker.

By Beatriz Mota

Image: Glen Bowman from Newcastle, England / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Business 21 July 2026

Markets tracker: gold, the Fed, oil and stocks

Our running tracker of the markets that move savings in Portugal — gold, Fed and ECB decisions, oil and stocks. Updated whenever there is news.

This is our running tracker of the markets that move savings in Portugal. Instead of a fresh article for every swing, we update this page whenever something matters: gold, Federal Reserve and European Central Bank decisions, oil and the main stock indices. For the background on the Portuguese economy, see our mid-year review. Official data is at the Bank of Portugal.

Promotional image from Dstelecom, Portugal's wholesale fibre operator

Business 20 July 2026

KKR is in the race for Dstelecom, Portugal's wholesale fibre network — and the price could hit €400 million

KKR and Vauban Infrastructure Partners are the final contenders for a majority stake in Dstelecom, the Braga-born fibre operator reaching one million homes.

Dstelecom, the wholesale fibre operator born in Braga, has reached the final stretch of a sale drawing serious money: US giant KKR and France's Vauban Infrastructure Partners are among the final contenders for a majority stake, in a deal that could value the company at €300 to €400 million. The 54% held by Cube Infrastructure Managers, the fund that backed the company a decade ago. The remaining 46% belongs to the dst group, the Gonçalves Teixeira family…

Business 20 July 2026

Destroying unsold clothes is now illegal in the EU — and Portugal's factories stand to gain

Since 19 July, large companies are banned from destroying unsold clothing and footwear in the EU. In Portugal, ASAE will enforce the rule — and industry sees an opening.

The shredder is no longer an acceptable destination for entire collections. Since 19 July, large companies selling in the European Union are banned from destroying unsold clothing, accessories and footwear — one of the first practical rules to bite under the EU's new ecodesign regulation, and it goes straight at one of fashion's most awkward secrets. Destroying unsold new clothing and footwear, plain and simple. For now the obligation covers large…

Bar chart showing average diesel and petrol prices in Portugal before and after the 20 July increase

Business 19 July 2026

Diesel in Portugal jumps 13.5 cents on Monday — the biggest hike of the year

Fuel prices rise on 20 July in Portugal: diesel up 13.5 cents to nearly 1.99 euros a litre, petrol up 6.5 to around 1.98. Middle East escalation is to blame — and the fuel tax may be adjusted.

If you usually fill up on Mondays, this is the week to break the habit and go today. Simple diesel rises about 13.5 cents a litre in Portugal from 20 July and 95-octane petrol goes up 6.5 cents — the biggest weekly update of the year, according to forecasts advanced by the ACP motoring club from international quotations. On a 50-litre diesel tank, that is nearly seven euros more from one week to the next. A litre of simple diesel should average close to…

Business 19 July 2026

Anthropic could go public as soon as October — beating OpenAI to Wall Street

Anthropic, maker of Claude, has banks lining up investor meetings for an IPO that could come as early as October, ahead of OpenAI.

The race to take AI's giants public has a new frontrunner. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude models, already has bankers scheduling meetings between investors and its executive team — the classic step before a market debut — and, according to the US financial press, the IPO could happen as soon as October. No date is locked in, but the calendar points to autumn: the company filed confidentially with the US regulator in June and now has Goldman…

View of the bay and high-rise skyline of Luanda, Angola's capital

Business 18 July 2026

Angolan investment in Portugal has nearly doubled — and now tops what Portugal holds in Angola

Angola's stock of direct investment in Portugal hit 4,525.7 million euros at the end of 2025, up 152% since 2021, exceeding Portuguese investment in Angola by 2,115 million euros.

For decades the story only ran one way: Portuguese companies investing in Angola. Bank of Portugal figures show the current has reversed — Angola's stock of direct investment in Portugal reached 4,525.7 million euros at the end of 2025, and now exceeds what Portuguese companies hold in Angola by 2,115 million euros. That 4.5 billion represents a jump of 50.9% in a single year and 152% since 2021 — the stock has more than doubled in four years. Among the…

Business 18 July 2026

Apple is worth more than Nvidia again — and the 5-trillion mark is in sight

Apple overtook Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company at 4.88 trillion dollars, reclaiming the top spot for the first time since April 2025.

Apple closed out Friday as the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalisation of 4.88 trillion dollars — just ahead of Nvidia's roughly 4.86 trillion after the chipmaker slid 3.5% on the day. It's the first time since April 2025 that the iPhone maker has held the crown, and the next symbolic bar is already visible from here: 5 trillion. Less through its own fireworks, more through a rotation working its way across Wall Street. After years of…

Business 17 July 2026

The IMF gave Portugal's banks a pass — and SMEs may feel the squeeze

The IMF's FSAP review of Portugal's financial system finds solid banks but flags exposure to housing and sovereign debt. Consultants warn SME lending is about to get stricter.

Good news first: the toughest exam Portugal's financial system faces came back positive. The FSAP report — the IMF's financial sector assessment, published on Friday by the Banco de Portugal — concludes that Portuguese banks weathered the last few years well, through the pandemic, the interest-rate climb and geopolitical turbulence, with adequate capital, liquidity and profitability. Two vulnerabilities, neither a shock to anyone who follows the…

Business 17 July 2026

Food prices in Europe now have a bigger enemy than war — this summer's heatwaves

This summer's heatwaves are set to push eurozone food prices up more in 2027 than the Iran conflict, says Oxford Economics. The ECB found the 2022 heatwave added 0.67 points to European food inflation — with southern Europe hit hardest.

Next year's supermarket bill is being written right now, in fields baking under the sun. Economists are warning that this summer's heatwaves are now a bigger threat to Europe's food prices than the war in Iran — because damaged harvests are set to outweigh the fading effect of pricier oil and fertiliser. Because they ruin production long before it reaches a shelf. The warning comes from Oxford Economics, via senior economist Tomas Dvorak, and the European…

Business 16 July 2026

Coca-Cola halted Fairlife production in the US — ransomware reached the factory floor

Coca-Cola temporarily suspended production at its Fairlife dairy brand in the United States after a ransomware attack hit systems connected to production. Canadian operations were not affected.

Not a breakdown, not a strike: a cyberattack stopped the lines. Coca-Cola told US regulators on Thursday that Fairlife, its milk and protein-drinks brand, has temporarily suspended production in the United States after ransomware reached company systems — including ones tied to production. According to the filing submitted to the SEC, Fairlife identified unauthorised third-party access to a portion of its systems as part of a ransomware event. The…

Business 16 July 2026

Fuel prices in Portugal rise fast and fall slowly — the government now wants answers, and may cap margins

Portugal's energy minister has given regulator ERSE 20 working days to explain how fuel prices are formed, and for the first time admits capping profit margins if serious market distortions show up.

Every driver in Portugal has asked it at the pump: why does a litre of fuel jump the moment oil rises, yet take weeks to ease when oil falls? Now the government is asking the same question — in writing, with a deadline, and with an unprecedented threat attached. In a letter to the president of energy regulator ERSE, Pedro Verdelho, environment and energy minister Maria da Graça Carvalho gave the watchdog 20 working days to explain how fuel prices are…

Business 16 July 2026

Trade Republic now issues Portuguese IBANs — and pays 3% to rattle the banks

Trade Republic has opened a Portuguese branch: clients get a PT50 IBAN and 3% annual interest on uninvested cash. MB Way integration is under study.

Trade Republic is everywhere in Portugal's financial news this Thursday, and for good reason. The German digital bank has officially opened a Portuguese branch, which means its Portuguese clients trade in their German IBAN for a national one starting with PT50 — the small detail that makes all the difference when your employer or landlord side-eyes a foreign account number. Alongside the new plates, the offer that made traditional banks wince stays put:…

Business 16 July 2026

Glovo Portugal is getting a new owner — sold to a US fund as part of the Uber-Delivery Hero deal

Glovo's Portugal operation is one of 14 businesses Delivery Hero is selling to SSW Partners for about 1.4 billion euros, as Uber moves to buy the German delivery giant for 12.9 billion.

The yellow backpack weaving through Portuguese streets is getting new bosses. Glovo's Portugal operation has been bundled into a package of 14 businesses that Delivery Hero, the brand's owner, is selling to US fund SSW Partners — a side piece, but a meaningful one, in the chess game that sees Uber buying the German delivery giant. SSW Partners, a New York investment fund, which will pay roughly 1.4 billion euros for operations in 14 markets — among them…

Business 15 July 2026

Portugal's airports handled 7.1 million passengers in May and broke the record again

Portuguese airports handled 7.1 million passengers in May 2026, up 2.9% year-on-year and an all-time high, according to INE. Lisbon alone accounts for half the country's traffic.

Seven point one million people went through Portugal's airports in May. In one month. In a month that isn't even peak season. It is an all-time high, up 2.9% on last May, and it confirms what anyone who has tried to clear security at Lisbon at seven in the morning already suspected: this is not slowing down. 7.1 million, counting departures, arrivals and direct transits, across 23,800 commercial landings, plus 22,100 tonnes of cargo and mail. An average…