[NOTE: With regard to the monthly release for the 2026 reference year, DREM maintains the model used in the previous year, publishing an aggregate that comprises hotels, rural tourism accommodation and all local accommodation, regardless of the number of beds. In turn, Statistics Portugal (INE), in its release, excludes local accommodation with fewer than 10 beds, which is why this news release, the Em Foco publication and the tables published by DREM show a higher overall total than that of INE, with respect to guests and overnight stays. For the variables occupancy rates, rooms and revenues, the values coincide with those of INE given that their calculation excludes local accommodation with fewer than 10 beds.]

In March 2026

Overnight stays in tourist accommodation in the Region grew 3.8% year-on-year, surpassing the one million mark for the first time this month of the year

In the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM), tourist accommodation recorded, in March 2026, the arrival of 218.5 thousand guests, generating 1 019.3 thousand overnight stays, reflecting year-on-year changes of +14.6% in guest arrivals and +3.8% in overnight stays. The hotel segment accounted for 65.4% of overnight stays (667.1 thousand), decreasing 1.9% year-on-year. Local accommodation (32.3% of the total) increased by 18.0%, whilst rural tourism accommodation (2.3% of the total) decreased by 1.9%.

For comparability purposes with the data released by Statistics Portugal (INE), local accommodation with fewer than 10 beds must be excluded; under this method of calculation, overnight stays in tourist accommodation recorded a year-on-year change of -1.1%, a change opposite to that observed nationally (+1.4%).

In March 2026, the largest increases in overnight stays were recorded in the Norte region (+8.5%) and Alentejo (+7.2%). In the opposite direction, Oeste e Vale do Tejo and the Centro region recorded the sharpest decreases (-15.7% and -8.1%, respectively).

It should be noted that the March results may have been influenced by the variable structure of the calendar, namely the effects associated with the Carnival and Easter periods.

In the first three months of 2026, guest arrivals at total tourist accommodation in the Region totalled 520.7 thousand, representing a growth of 9.3% compared to the same period of the previous year. Overnight stays also recorded an increase of 2.6% compared to the same period of 2025, standing at 2.7 million.

The net bed occupancy rate of tourist accommodation in the Region in the reference month was 62.8%, -2.9 percentage points (pp) compared to the same month of the previous year (65.8%). In turn, the room occupancy rate reached 73.8% (76.9% in March 2025).

In March 2026, the average length of stay in the total tourist accommodation stood at 4.23 nights (4.62 in March 2025). The highest values continue to be observed in local accommodation (4.41 nights) and hotels (4.18 nights), followed by rural tourism accommodation, which presents the lowest average length of stay, at 3.59 nights.

It should be highlighted that the top 10 source markets accounted for 81.1% of total overnight stays recorded in March 2026. Germany (23.0% of the total; +6.8% compared to March 2025), the United Kingdom (17.0%; -3.4%) and Portugal (16.1%; +6.7%) stood out with the highest shares. In fourth position, in terms of relative share of total overnight stays, was the Polish market (6.9%; -8.8%), followed by the French (5.3%; -0.8%) and Dutch markets (3.7%; +17.6%).

In March 2026, total revenue and revenue from accommodation recorded year-on-year growth of 11.1% and 11.8%, respectively, standing at 70.5 million euros and 50.7 million euros, respectively. Nationally, in the same month, total revenue and revenue from accommodation also recorded year-on-year growth, at +6.6% and +5.9%, respectively.

In cumulative terms, in the Region, total revenue and revenue from accommodation recorded changes of +9.7% and +9.4%, respectively, totalling, from January to March 2026, 178.7 million euros and 125.6 million euros.

In March 2026, the average revenue per available room (RevPAR) stood at around 89.92 euros across total tourist accommodation (excluding local accommodation with fewer than 10 beds), +7.7% compared to the same month of the preceding year. In turn, the average daily rate (ADR) in tourist accommodation increased from 108.56 euros in March 2025 to 121.81 euros in March 2026 (a year-on-year change of +12.2%).

From January to March 2026, RevPAR across total tourist accommodation (excluding local accommodation with fewer than 10 beds) stood at 77.44 euros, representing an increase of 6.2% compared to the same period of the previous year. In the hotel segment, RevPAR was 83.78 euros, corresponding to a 6.8% growth. As for ADR, values were higher, standing at 114.08 euros across total tourist accommodation (+10.5% compared to the same period of the previous year) and 118.73 euros in the hotel segment (+12.2%).

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