Protected areas are spaces recognized for their natural, landscape and cultural values, and whose preservation constitutes a collective interest. Enterprises located in a natural area can have economic benefits, understood as coordinated strategies for allocating various resources, for the conservation and sustainable use of these areas, seeking the rational use, or protection of resources and the environment. In this context, the research aim is to study the economic and financial benefits related to protected areas in Portugal, focusing on companies in the tourism sector. For this purpose, three hypotheses were established relating the variables of region and business size (H1), region and business performance (H2) and business size and performance (H3). The indicators return on equity, return on assets, and economic value added were calculated based on information extracted from accounting documents, in the SABI database, of enterprises located in protected areas by county, by size, distinction of parks and regions, contemplating a total of 87,130 companies. Based on the Kruskal–Wallis test, all hypotheses were confirmed, evidencing those enterprises from the north of Portugal presented lower indicator values than the country’s other regions. Thus, actions are needed to improve the performance of these regions and increase the others.
