Portugal has reached the Top 3 of the most attractive destinations for hotel investment in Europe, occupying third place in the ranking, alongside countries such as Spain, in first place, and Italy, in second place on the podium, according to Publituris.

The city of Lisbon enters this ranking for the first time, occupying the fourth place among the most attractive cities for investment in the hotel industry.

The data is explained in the European Hotels Investor Intentions Survey 2025, developed by CBRE, which states that investors demonstrate “growing optimism regarding the performance of the European hotel sector”, with more than 90% planning to maintain or increase their investment allocation.

“Although respondents expect the geopolitical situation to be the main challenge for investment in 2025, confidence in the European hotel market continues to grow. More than 90% of investors are willing to maintain or increase their capital allocation to the sector. The sector offers competitive returns and investor sentiment remains optimistic, with good profitability prospects and relative out performance compared to other asset classes as the main reasons for increasing their allocation to hotels,” CBRE said in a press release.

Spain continues to be the top investment destination for the second year running, followed by Italy, which this year overtook the United Kingdom for second place in the ranking.

While investment in Spain is “supported by long-term market fundamentals and sustained tourist demand”, the growing interest in the Italian hotel sector “is widespread, driven by the country’s diversified hospitality offering and the emergence of a new group of world-class hotels”.

With Portugal and the United Kingdom sharing third place, France and Greece maintained fourth and fifth place, respectively.

At city level, London continues to be the top choice for investment. Madrid solidified its status as the second most attractive city for hotel investment, with Rome completing the Top 3 cities, up from fourth position achieved in 2024. Lisbon and Barcelona complete the Top 4 and 5, respectively.

According to the CBRE study, investors continue to seek out the urban product, with 65% of respondents considering gateway cities as the most attractive locations, given “their status as long-term demand hubs, supported by resilient business and leisure travel”.

In the same study, 12% of respondents said that secondary cities are the most attractive investment opportunities, “driven by growing confidence in emerging tourism markets, which are supported by improved infrastructure and changing travel patterns”.

“The current imbalance between supply and demand across Europe continues to be a key factor for the
sector,” said Kenneth Hatton, head of European hotels at CBRE. “We are seeing strong bids from potential buyers looking to acquire the best assets, reflected in hotel investment volumes last year, which increased by 34% compared to 2023, the largest annual increase
for any sector in the region.”

Duarte Morais Santos, director of hotels at CBRE Portugal, says that “the Portuguese hotel sector has been consolidating its position as one of the most dynamic in Europe, driven by resilient tourism and an increasingly sophisticated market. The fact that Portugal has moved up four positions in this ranking reflects the recognition of its robustness and potential for sustainable growth”.