British tourists may allow the Algarve to reach pre-pandemic levels, but the hotel industry is worried about the rest of the country, "namely the cities."
They came packed and ready to give a boost to Algarve tourism. British tourists returned to Portugal this week and the hotel sector is ready to welcome them. Expectations are high and the Hotel Association of Portugal (AHP) admits that it may be possible to get close to 2019 numbers in this region. However, the association’s CEO, Cristina Siza Vieira, shows “great concern” about the rest of the country, namely the city destinations. “We will be a long way from the 2019 results,” she says.
What is the current situation of the hotel sector?
We had a terrible first four months, with falls of over 90%, especially in Albufeira. It was expected. It’s obvious that after a year with the results we’ve known, this has further aggravated the situation of businesses and the country, given the specific importance that tourism has on GDP and family incomes. There were deep falls in revenue, overnight stays and employment. There has been huge destruction of jobs.
The expectations were that the vaccination plan, together with the lockdown easing plan, would allow us to get a little bit where we are now. The opening has already started in the country and we have now signalled that we are available to receive international tourists. And we have the good news that Portugal is on the UK’s “green list”, there are only 12 countries. This is good news and a very important sign of hope. So, looking at the rear-view mirror is to regret everything that has happened and looking forward is to realise that we may have a reasonable summer if things stay as they are.
How are the bookings for the summer?
We have a very high demand – as we expected – which was noticeable as soon as Portugal made a new decree suspending the constraints that were in place. And that caused an increase in demand and lots of reservations in hotels, particularly in the Algarve and Madeira. We will only have concrete figures at the beginning of the summer, in June, but we know some large hotel groups have signalled an enormous increase in bookings.
Even so, there is great concern about the rest of the national territory, namely the cities. Some who work with the domestic market continue to consider that the summer will be positive, with numbers close to 2018. But then the rest of the year is missing.
At the end of 2021, considering the entire year and the whole country, we will be a long way from the 2019 results. However, if we focus on a more regional area, like the Algarve region, we will probably be closer to the 2019 figures.
You mentioned “figures close to 2018”. Is that where this year’s summer will stand? Will we be far from 2019 figures?
We will be far away from 2019 levels, because we have the rest of the national territory. Tourism in cities is much more… Obviously, we have short-break, but short-break is off-season. And then you have business tourism, congress tourism, trade fairs, etc., and that will not happen now. At the end of 2021, considering the entire year and the whole country, we will be a long way from the 2019 results. However, if we focus on a more regional area, like the Algarve region, we will probably be closer to the 2019 figures, but we haven’t reached them yet because we don’t know what is going to happen with other markets. There is some unpredictability.
Which are the markets where you have the highest hopes?
So, as expected, this summer will be more of an intra-European market and within that market, the British market is the one that is going to boost Algarve tourism, along with the domestic market. I hope that others will follow and there are interesting expectations there too, particularly for the German, French, Spanish and Dutch markets. Although the Dutch market cannot fly to Portugal at the moment.
Are there fears of a new lockdown? Will the sector hold up?
Although something unusual may happen regarding the pandemic situation, the truth is that the latest scientific data shows that, even regarding the new variant, vaccines protect against the serious consequences of that variant. What is known is that vaccination and group immunity make it possible to envisage much greater peace of mind in the world of travel and tourism. I do not, therefore, think this should be the industry’s concern from the outset.
So what is the main concern?
The concern is that there are various types of tourism, as I mentioned, for example, business tourism, which is fundamental. And this type of tourism will take longer to recover. Our conviction is that it will recover, but not to pre-pandemic levels any time soon. And this is, in fact, a very important segment for cities. I would say that the main concern is the recovery of some fluxes and segments, but also the situation of the airlines and the support they need.
Specifically, in Portugal, this is the critical point: to have sufficient support to hold on until there is a recovery of the tourism rhythm that allows reaching the break-even point.
Our proposal is precisely to intensify vaccination in the Algarve population. We believe that there should not be vaccination by specific groups in this region, because the entire population comes into contact with tourism.
One of the measures proposed by the AHP is the vaccination of the Algarve population. Why?
Our proposal is precisely to intensify vaccination in the Algarve population. We believe that there should not be vaccination by specific groups in this region, because the entire population comes into contact with tourism. This is a way of giving greater tranquillity to the population that is being vaccinated, and certainly greater tranquillity to those who come to us. The goal is, in the future, to be a place with a safe destination seal because our population is vaccinated.
Furthermore, we are a country where the vaccination rate – particularly in the Algarve – is higher than in other countries and competing destinations. Therefore, it is a reassuring factor for those who visit us and for the population. Our belief is that, with this boost to vaccination, the Algarve population – of which there are just over 400 thousand people – can quickly achieve group immunity. And that was our proposal to the task force coordinator.
Have you received a response?
Yesterday we received a reply, which is exactly in line with what we were advocating. In other words, rather than vaccinating specific groups, the population of the Algarve – which, moreover, is of a younger age group – the intention is precisely to intensify vaccination in the Algarve due to the younger population, and to be able to reach the largest group of vaccinated people in the region.
“Aware that there is a younger age structure in the Algarve, there is the intention to start strengthening the vaccination of these groups, thus accelerating, in the short term, the respective rate of the vaccinated population”. This was the response we received and we are all very happy that our proposal has been considered, because it is an alignment of interests. It was very well received and has a triple effect: it reassures the population, reassures those who visit us and demarcates us from our competitors.
In addition, we have agreements with two laboratories and we have much easier conditions for testing to be done at collection points, in the hotels themselves, and by appointment. So, we have a very interesting coverage of the territory in the Algarve, and everything is working so that we can, in fact, have a year and a summer with very peaceful tourism. The only thing missing is the arrival of tourists.