Portugal’s Algarve tourism expects 30% occupancy ‘at best’ mainly from national holidaymakers this summer

Portugal’s Algarve tourism sector expects to benefit from just 30 per cent occupancy ‘at best’ this year, despite being considered as one of the most ‘low-risk Covid-19 destinations’ in Europe, according to the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT).

“If you have a conversation with any travel agent or hotelier in the Algarve, regarding tourism between the months of June and September, they will all tell you that they predict hotel occupancy or business activity to be around 30 per cent,” stated Pedro Costa Ferreira, APAVT’s President, at a conference organised by travel magazine, Ambitur.

He said the tourism industry predicts “a 70 per cent drop in turnover/business in the Algarve, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is something that has never been experienced as a company or region,” he pointed out. Nevertheless it’s a “much better scenario than April.

“This is a crisis like no other,” he added, and “it will affect the regions of Porto, Lisbon, as well as the Algarve, much more than anywhere elsewhere in the country, because of its high dependence on tourism.”

Given the current lack of international tourism this year, one way that the Algarve can survive the crisis, is by making the destination more attractive to national tourists, who will be thinking about holidaying closer to home, he pointed out. Given the “lack of international mobility and insecurity of national tourists, the Algarve needs to take advantage of the situation by creating attractive offers for the home market.” However, he added that “state support is also vital to increase confidence and generate an increase in demand of international tourism too,” through programmes like “safe travel corridor” agreements.