BREXIT will be one of the main constraints for hoteliers in 2019

The hotel sector in Portugal is less optimistic about 2019 because of the BREXIT effect according to the sector.

For the first time in many years Portuguese holidaymakers outstripped foreign visitors in Portugal’s traditional holiday region of the Algarve.

Projections for next year show that the national industry is expecting a slowdown with 43% of hoteliers nationwide believing that the occupation rate will be better than 2018 according to a study from the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP) published on Monday.

For 75% of those canvassed, the average price per occupied room (ARR) was greater in 2018 than in 2017. Between January and October 2018 there was an increase in average price per room available (RevPar) to €71 (+5%) and a better performance of ARR (Accounting Rate of Return) to €97 (+7%) according to consolidated data from the AHP.

It came as no surprise, however, that the occupation rate fell 1.3 percentage points which confirmed the analysis of those canvassed although the average stay remained the same for 72% of participants, with 43% of hoteliers registering an average stay of two to three nights.

The national market (Portuguese staying in hotels nationally) stood out in these results with a weight of 19% on national hotels, followed by Spain (14%) and Germany (12%). Portuguese holidaymakers remained the main market in the North, Centre, Alentejo and the Azores and was, for the first time in many years, the main market in the Algarve.