Algarve Golf sees ‘very high levels’ of demand after 18 months

The high season of golf in the Algarve has massive levels of demand, and some prospects can continue between February and March, the president of the Algarve Tourism, João Fernandes, told Lusa on Thursday.

The peak golf season in the Algarve region starts in September – coinciding with the low season of tourism, which helps to smooth out seasonality – but in the last year and a half, there have been significant falls in demand due to restrictions to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. This situation is now beginning to change.

“From September to November, we see very high levels of demand,” said the president of Turismo do Algarve, stressing that the recovery in this market segment may even have demand until February or March 2022, after the lifting of restrictions on travel in the UK due to the pandemic.

João Fernandes recalled that golf has always had the unfortunate coincidence of the confinement seasons coinciding with the regular periods of greatest demand for its practice, but pointed out that, as of September of this year, it began to attract demand, driven by two phenomena that he classified as interesting.

The upturn in demand was, according to him, influenced by successive bookings that were delayed and that were confirmed, the so-called rebookings, and by a last-minute demand, very close to where the booking itself was made but is also anchored in an upturn in the British and Irish markets, which represent 73% of golf rounds in the Algarve.

“As IGTM [International Golf Travel Market] is taking place in Wales, which is the main fair for the golf market, I had the opportunity to collect in-loco feedback from the 40 courses in the Algarve, which is very positive, with courses practically full by the end of November and still with some demand in December,” he said.

According to the president of Turismo do Algarve, expectations, especially from March, and in some cases even in February, point to a golf market that is picking up strongly and are added to the very positive behaviour of the primary market for this product in the Algarve, the British and Irish.

Elidérico Viegas told Lusa that the outlook for golf, given the circumstances, is quite good, with recovery after almost more than a year and a half without tourists and practically without activity. However, it is not yet at the level of what was usual before the pandemic, he noted.

According to the Algarve Association of Hotels and Tourism Developments (AHETA) chairman, tourism in the region is already showing an interesting recovery. The expected lifting of restrictions in tourists’ countries of origin will gradually increase demand for this market segment.