Portugal looks to rake in €100 million from Japanese tourism in just three years
Portugal is setting its sights on Japan, with plans to rake in €100 million from Japanese tourists in three years’ time.
Carlos Abade, the President of Turismo de Portugal, announced this ambitious goal on Monday, outlining strategies to strengthen Portugal’s presence in Asia, particularly Japan, through the upcoming Expo Osaka 2025.
Speaking to Lusa news agency, Abade shared the tourism board’s plans to deepen ties between the two countries.
“We want to strengthen our position in Asia,” he said, adding that the Expo Osaka provided a great opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Portugal and Japan.
Currently, Japan ranks as Portugal’s 17th most important source of tourists. Abade noted that while numbers haven’t fully bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, Portugal is seeing solid growth and aims to triple the tourism revenue from Japan by 2026. “ We haven’t managed to make that recovery yet, but we are growing very strongly, and we believe that in three years we can at least reach €100 million from Japanese tourism, which means tripling the figure we had in 2023,” he added.
Expanding Portugal’s tourism appeal to new or lesser-explored markets is one of the tourism board’s biggest goals. The sector has seen impressive growth in 2024 – already hitting targets set for 2027 – thanks to surging markets like the US.
To continue growing, Turismo de Portugal is expanding its network of teams abroad, which currently spans 19 countries and covers 25 markets. Plans include setting up new teams in Mexico and the United States, with a major focus on Japan and South Korea, especially with a direct flight from Seoul to Lisbon.
The strengthening of its presence in Seoul and Tokyo, along with its existing presence in China, is “in reality a major reinforcement we are making in the Asian market,” said Abade.
With roadshows planned for Japan and South Korea this September, and more events later in the year, the tourism board hopes to continue wooing more and more Asian tourists – with further plans to increase the average stay of Japanese tourists in Portugal.
