“The Large Majority of Real Estate Converted into AL Was Unoccupied”, CTP Contends

8 November 2017

“Our market has the capacity to absorb new housing solutions,” the president of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation (CTP), Francisco Calheiros stated, referring to the platforms that came to revolutionise the rental market. Mr Calheiros also argued that the tourism sector, through Local Accommodation (AL), made a “significant contribution to the rehabilitation of many buildings in various areas of the city of Lisbon.”

Francisco Calheiros, in an interview with Notícias ao Minuto, spoke about the importance of tourism to the national economy, and believes that “Portugal is not only a destination focused on sun and sea”, but that “has the capacity to grow beyond the regions normally sought by tourists “. “The growth of Tourism is not the result of a phenomenon or a specific trend, but rather of a concerted effort by professionals and agents of the sector who have invested years in the improvement of the offer and the quality of the service,” he added.

“We all gain from the increase in tourism.”

Mr Calheiros contends that the speculation being experienced in the real estate market, which has caused housing prices to increase rapidly, did not arise because of the tourist boom. “There are studies that show that a large majority of real estate converted into AL was previously unoccupied,” he said. “It has made a significant contribution to the rehabilitation of many buildings in various parts of the capital.”

According to the official, this effort “resulted in the appreciation of houses in some areas of Lisbon and a consequent rise in prices.” For Francisco Calheiros, the froth in the real estate sector is due to a “market trend that in which we are catching up to the reality of the big European cities.”

Original Story: idealista

Translation: Richard Turner