ABSTRACT AND SUMMARYTourism has experienceddifferent levels of developmentin the differentregions of•Portugal.data models were estimated with the objective ofexplaining the evolution of•international overnight stays in each region.Secondary data from2000 to 2011was used.•themain tourism source marketsfor Portugal, such as theUnited Kingdom, Germany,•the Netherlands, Ireland, France and Spain.Per capita income, unemployment rate and final household consumptionwere identified•as the most shared explanatory variables in each tourism region.thehigh elasticitywith respect toper capita incomewas confirmed, suggesting that•tourism is a luxury good.