Analysing the data provided by Google, among the main domestic destinations searched for as holidays/tourism last year, Porto comes first, followed by Madeira, a destination that reached its highest number of searches in the last 10 years worldwide this year, and the Azores. Viseu, Funchal, Cascais, Ponta Delgada and Berlengas also appear in this ranking, according to a report by Publituris.


Interestingly, over the last few years, rural tourism, which used to be more sought after in inland regions, has started to attract more search interest across the country.


As for the foreign destinations most sought after by the Portuguese as a holiday/tourism destination, Brazil stands out, followed by the Maldives, Turkey, Santorini and Bali.


Looking now at what the Portuguese are looking for, Google Trends shows that last year Disneyland Paris and the Eiffel Tower were the two most searched foreign tourist destinations in Portugal.

The search for luxury

Another trend revealed by Google Trends is related to travellers' interest in luxurious getaways. However, as the cost of living continues to impact people's finances, those who travel also want good value for money, and Google Trends shows that there are significantly more searches for “best” than for “cheap” in the travel category.

In 2024, people are making affordable luxury happen through impactful travel experiences. This includes upgrades — 54% of travellers would pay for accommodation upgrades and 47% are willing to invest in flight or train upgrades, as long as it’s not too expensive — and paying more for a boutique hotel stay or a unique, one-of-a-kind adventure.

Large-scale sporting and cultural events have also had an impact, with the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship and Summer Olympics set to be held back-to-back in Germany and France, with Euromonitor predicting that global sports tourism package sales will increase by 15% in 2024.

As a result of this influx of sports and music fans into the region, travel is expected to increase – with people from as far away as North America planning trips to multiple countries before and after these mega-events.

According to Google, sustainability is also “on the rise” with major rail travel. Ecotourism is not a new trend in the industry, but it remains a priority for brands and consumers. Rail travel has been particularly popular this year – including overnight journeys. These types of journeys can make long-distance travel more convenient and are a unique experience in their own right.

According to Euromonitor, rail travel is the fastest-growing travel category worldwide, expected to grow by more than 35% during 2023-2024, with a third of eco-adventurers saying they prefer train travel to air travel.