According to Cushman & Wakefield, this new hotel development confirms the strong potential in the sector, which has just completed a year of new records. In its Business Briefing – Atividade Turística Portugal, now launched, the consultancy highlights «another record year for tourism» with two-digit growth in numbers of visits and stays.
Recent figures from INE demonstrate that the sector has continued to grow since 2013. Last year, the number of visitors increased by 9.8% compared to the previous year, at 19.1 million, and number of nights stayed remaining above 53.5 million, 9.6% more than in 2015.
Concurrently, takings are also up, and the constant improvement in the quality of hotel service has contributed towards a better operational performance in the sector. In 2016, hotel receipts grew by 17%, a total of more than 2,900 million euros, with the RevPar growing 13.4%, settling at 42.3 euros. Growth has already continued into January, with an increase in receipts of 17%.
Lisbon, the Algarve and Madeira continue to be the three main destinations in the country, with 18.1, 13.1 and 7.3 million nights stayed in 2016. The Azores were the region which grew the most last year.
According to this publication from Cushman & Wakefield, tourists from abroad make up 72% of nights stayed, with Madeira, the Algarve and Lisbon as the most visited, the opposite end of the scale being the Alentejo and Central Portugal. The majority of people come form the United Kingdom, with 24% of foreign visitors, followed by Germany, with 14% and Spain with 10%. They spend on average 114 euros a day in Portugal.