Gonzalo Escrivá de Romaní, Development Director for Iberia at Odyssey Hotel Group (OHG), told idealista that Portugal has “enormous growth potential”, pointing to strong international tourism, good air connections and continued interest from investors.

The Dutch hotel operator is now preparing to enter Portugal with its first project in Porto.

The hotel, planned for the Campanhã area, will have more than 200 rooms and will operate under one of the international brands the group works with, which include Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Accor and Radisson.

However, Porto is only the beginning of the group's plans for Portugal.

OHG wants to build a portfolio of between eight and 10 hotels in the country over the next three years, with Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve among its main target markets.

In the Algarve, the group is looking for resorts with more than 120 rooms, either through new hotels or by taking over and rebranding existing properties.

Escrivá de Romaní believes there is still space for more international hotel brands in Portugal, especially compared to other European destinations.

He also pointed to the growing number of American tourists visiting Portugal. Many US travellers already use international hotel chains and their loyalty programmes, making Portugal an attractive market for these brands.

The comments come at a time of strong investment in Portugal's hotel sector.

Figures from Savills show that hotel investment reached €508 million during the first half of 2026, an increase of 54% compared with the same period last year.

Over the 18 months between January 2025 and June 2026, more than €1 billion was invested in Portuguese hotels across 19 transactions.