This reflects the growth of international tourism in the country and also found that the leisure and restaurant sectors experienced the highest growth.

The study reveals that, during the peak summer months, "consumption in Portugal grew 9% in number of transactions and 4% in value (withdrawals and purchases)" compared to the same period last year, with the average value per transaction reaching 38 euros, two euros less than the 2024 average.

"During this period, one in six transactions was made with foreign cards," says the SIBS study, whose data also shows that the sectors that registered the greatest growth compared to the same period last year were "Leisure, which grew 15% in transactions and 1% in value, and the Restaurant Industry, which registered an 11% increase in the number of transactions and 12% in value."

Average spend

For foreigners, the average value of each transaction was 41 euros, which also reflects a three-euro decrease compared to the same period in 2024. France (20%), the United Kingdom (14%), Spain (12%), the United States (7%), and Germany (7%) stand out as the foreign countries with the highest consumption in Portugal, in a ranking that corresponds to the main tourist source markets for the country.

Five countries account for the majority of Portuguese consumption abroad.

The SIBS study on activity in the MULTIBANCO network also analyzed the consumption of Portuguese vacationers in the country and abroad, finding that there was a "9% increase in the number of transactions and a 7% increase in the value of consumption compared to the same period last year," although the average value per transaction fell by one euro compared to the same period in 2024, to 39 euros.

Favourite destinations

According to the study, the districts of Faro and Lisbon were "the Portuguese's favorite destinations" during this holiday season, both accounting for 12% of total transactions with national cards made more than 50 km from their place of origin. Although the variation in the share in Faro decreased by 7% compared to the same period last year, while in Lisbon, there was a 1% increase.

In addition to national destinations, the SIBS study also found that Spain was the third destination with the highest variation and most transactions (4%), while Porto showed a 7% increase, 3% more than last year.

Portuguese spending abroad was concentrated primarily in Spain (43%), France (16%), Italy (7%), Ireland (5%), and Belgium (4%), which were the countries with the highest share of Portuguese transactions abroad.