British tourists spent more on accommodation, food and shopping in Portugal than visitors of any other nationality during the first half of 2026, according to data from Turismo de Portugal.
Of the roughly 3.7 billion euros paid with foreign cards at Portuguese businesses between January and June, 518 million euros came from tourists from the United Kingdom. More than half of all payments were registered in Greater Lisbon and the Algarve.
British visitors used their cards 16 million times over the six-month period, spending an average of 32.7 euros per purchase. That marked a 6.2% increase in the value of payments compared with the same period the previous year.
Given Portugal's proximity to the rest of Europe and the ease of cross-border travel, European tourists dominate the top five list of biggest spenders. As in recent years, though, American tourists held one of the leading positions. Tourists from the United States spent about 2.4 million euros on purchases in Portugal by June, placing second in the ranking.
Where the spending went
Of the 3.7 billion euros in total foreign card spending, about 1.4 billion euros went toward retail purchases, more than 1 billion euros went to restaurants, and 735 million euros went toward accommodation, according to Turismo de Portugal, which based its figures on statistics from SIBS. Combined spending on restaurants, accommodation and travel agencies reached 1.8 billion euros.
Highest average spend by nationality
Foreign tourists spent an average of 35.7 euros per purchase in Portugal during the first six months of the year. Broken down by nationality, Irish tourists spent the most per purchase, paying an average of 90.6 euros. Tourists from Mozambique followed, spending an average of 53 euros, and tourists from Angola spent an average of 50 euros per purchase.
