Portugal Stays Put: New EU Travel Data Reveal Home-Favoring Habits

Most people across the European Union are still choosing to holiday within the bloc, and Portuguese residents are no exception. Fresh figures from Eurostat show that 92 % of all journeys by EU citizens in 2024 stayed inside the Union’s borders. Within that powerful headline, Portugal stands out for keeping the vast majority of trips on the Iberian Peninsula, while a trio of small nations—Luxembourg, Belgium and Malta—do precisely the opposite. The new data shed light on what motivates travellers, how money and geography shape their decisions and where the trend might head in 2025.

Portugal prefers the backyard

The report confirms that 85 % of trips taken by people living in Portugal never crossed the frontier, a share that ranks the country alongside France and Greece and only slightly behind Spain. Local tourism officials say three factors explain the attachment to home turf: the near-year-round sun in the Algarve, a nationwide rail pass that caps regional fares at €49 and a surge of long-weekend city breaks to Porto, Braga and Évora. Inflation has also played a part. With hotel prices in Paris or Amsterdam often double those in Lisbon, families have opted for shorter, more frequent domestic getaways instead of one big international blow-out.

When size drives wanderlust

At the other extreme, Luxembourg’s residents crossed a border on 78 % of their journeys, and their Belgian and Maltese neighbours were not far behind at 62 % and 48 % respectively. Tourism economists point to obvious geography—the grand-duchy can be crossed by car in under an hour—but also to income and connectivity. Luxembourg has the EU’s highest GDP per capita, while Brussels-based low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air pump out bargain fares to every corner of Europe. Cheap flights and compact territory make ‘going abroad’ feel as effortless as a domestic commute.

Leisure dominates, business rebounds slowly

Breaking the trips down by purpose, Eurostat says that 3 in 4 journeys last year were pure leisure, whether beach escapes or cultural weekends. Business travel, hammered during the pandemic, recovered only marginally and now accounts for 12 % of movements, still below 2019 levels. Visiting friends and relatives makes up the remaining slice and is particularly strong among Portuguese communities with family ties in France and Switzerland. Even so, the overall picture confirms that tourism, not work, underpins Europe’s mobility.

The 2025 balancing act: price vs. planet

Early projections for next year suggest the total volume of EU trips may plateau as households juggle higher airfares, volatile fuel costs and mounting climate concerns. Brussels is finalising a proposal to extend carbon charges on intra-EU flights, which could lift ticket prices by 5 %–8 %. Analysts at the European Travel Commission believe that could nudge some travellers toward rail or keep them closer to home. Portugal could benefit from that shift, given its expanding night-train links to Madrid and the government’s plan to slash tolls on key motorways by 30 %.

Takeaways for Portugal’s tourism sector

For hotel owners in Aveiro or surf schools in Peniche, the data bring welcome news: domestic demand remains robust. Yet operators that rely heavily on foreign guests, especially in the Algarve’s golf resorts, might face headwinds if airfares climb. A diversified strategy—blending local clients with targeted European markets reachable by rail—could offer the best hedge. As 2025 approaches, the Portuguese mantra of ‘ficar por cá’ (staying right here) appears likely to endure, but a warming planet and a thinning wallet will ultimately decide how far Europeans, Portuguese included, are willing to roam.