TAP’s disappearance would be “disaster” for tourism

  • Lusa
  • 3 March 2021

The Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies and Tourism (APAVT) believes that TAP is fundamental to tourism and the country's economic recovery.

The Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies and Tourism (APAVT) agreed with the support for TAP, whose disappearance would be a “disaster”, as the company is fundamental to tourism and Portugal’s economic recovery.

“We agree with the support [to TAP]. We agree with the support because TAP is fundamental to Portuguese tourism, and tourism is crucial to economic recovery, employment (…) and the recovery of external accounts,” Pedro Costa Ferreira, the president of APAVT, told Lusa in an interview.

Pedro Costa Ferreira said the idea that if the flagship airline disappeared, another could come and do the same service was a ‘half-truth’.

“It is easy to say that if TAP disappears, someone else will come along… this is only a half-truth. (…) Firstly, at the current moment, replacing TAP’s routes would not take less than two years. I do not believe that the Portuguese economy can wait two years (…). Secondly, replacing the Portuguese airline with one flying a foreign flag would probably mean abandoning the hub,” the airport that serves as a distribution and transfer centre for flights in Portugal, he said.

There would be a risk of losing tourists, for example, on long-haul flights – namely on routes where TAP has been focusing over the last few years – from markets that had been growing strongly in Portugal.

“Abandoning the hub would mean abandoning all the long haul traffic, the Brazilian traffic, the American traffic, the Canadian traffic, the traffic that we have to build with China. And to abandon that hub would be to abandon the biggest challenge for Portuguese tourism – and probably for the Portuguese economy – which is to solve these more distant markets,” he added.

“Certainly, contrary to what some theory might suggest, we think it would be a disaster for tourism and the Portuguese economy if TAP disappeared overnight,” he said.

Ferreira said it was reasonable to demand that TAP finally presents profits, to demand that the restructuring is not another step in the wrong direction.

On recent disagreements with the airline, the APAVT president said that the relationship with TAP might have been easier since the previous CEO, Antonoaldo Neves, was replaced.

Concerning the settlement of accounts with TAP, Ferreira said that, currently, travel agencies had been reimbursed “a few million”.