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Portugal Finished 2016 with 81 New Developments
6 June 2017
Portugal ended 2016 with 1,945 tourism developments, 81 more than in the previous year, according to the 12th edition of the Deloitte Portuguese Hospitality Atlas, which also forecasts the inauguration of 38 new hotel units in 2017.
According to the report, cited by Lusa, the number of overnight stays surpassed 53 million, while revenues exceeded 2 billion euros, with an occupancy rate of over 63%.
The regions of Madeira (77.5%) and Lisbon (72.5%) registered the highest occupancy rates in 2016, with the capital also having the highest average price per room in the country (80.65 euros).
In areas with longer average stays, the ‘winners’ were Madeira (5.39 days) and Algarve (4.49 days).
All regions saw their revenue per available room (RevPAR) grow and Lisbon once again stood out with a revenue of 59.18 euros, an increase of 5.58 euros over the previous year.
The distribution of developments regionally is as follows: the Algarve and the North lead (22% each), followed by Central Region (21%), Lisbon (15%), Alentejo (8%), Madeira (7%) and Azores 5%).
The southernmost region also appears at the top of the rankings in relation to the number of accommodation units, representing 32% of the total, with Lisbon appearing in second place, with 21%.
The seasonality index shows that July, August and September are the months with the highest number of overnight stays.
Internationally, the Lisbon occupancy rate has surpassed such major European cities as Rome, Madrid and Paris, although it remains below London, Amsterdam and Barcelona, but RevPar numbers (revenues per available room) are below the European average.
Hotels continue to be the most common type of tourist development, accounting for 73% of the total. They are followed by tourist apartments (10%), apartment hotels (7%), rural hotels (5%), tourist villages (3%) and inns (2%).
In terms of hotel rankings, three (33%) and four (38%) star hotels predominate at the national level. Two-star ventures ranked third with 17% and five-star ventures ranked fourth with 8%.
The Pestana Hotels & Resorts / Pousadas de Portugal (5.2% of the total), the Vila Galé Hotels (3%) and Accor Hotels (2.4%) are the top 3 in the national ranking of the 20 hotel groups with the largest number of accommodation units.
“The year 2016 was unique and historic for revenue and overnights, but also stood out for the growth in the number of developments,” said Miguel Eiras Antunes, leader of Tourism, Hospitality & Services at Deloitte, in a statement.
The consultancy said that 38 new hotels, mainly 4- and 5-star, are expected this year, with the greatest number in Lisbon (18). Eight openings are planned in the North, seven in the Center, four in the Algarve and one in the Azores.
According to Jorge Marrão, head of Real Estate at Deloitte, “international investors are increasingly interested in Portugal, a result of the increase in the rates of return on real estate assets.
“Tourism will therefore remain a strategic part of our economy,” he concluded.
Original Story – Publituris
Translation: Richard Turner