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Tourism Receipts Up in May

July 15, 2021 – Ana Custódio

Growth was still far below that of the same period in 2019, mainly due to tourism by non-residents.

According to the National Statistics Institute’s tourism study, the tourist accommodation sector hosted one million guests and 2.1 million overnight stays in May 2021. These figures compare to 126,600 guests and 261,600 overnight stays in May 2020, when tourism had practically halted.

However, the levels reached in May 2021 were nevertheless lower than those in May 2019, with the number of guests and overnight stays falling by 62.3% and 68.6%, respectively. Compared to May 2019, there were decreases of 22.3% in resident overnight stays and 83.8% in non-resident overnight stays.

According to INE’s analysis, the income recorded in tourist accommodation establishments reached €126.8 million in total, and €91.7 million for income from rooms. Once again, compared to the month of May 2019, total revenue decreased by 68.9%, and room receipts dropped by 69.7%.

For the tourist accommodation establishments as a whole, the average revenue per available room (RevPAR) stood at €20.7 in May (€10.8 in April), while the average revenue per occupied room (ADR) reached €77.6 in May (€60.6 in April). RevPAR and ADR were €52.3 and €87.8, respectively, in May 2019.

Portugal’s National Statistics Institute noted a 48.8% decrease in total overnight stays in the first five months of the year, due to drops of 3.6% for residents and 72.7% for non-residents. The figures were influenced by the fact that the impact of the pandemic had not yet been felt in the first two months of 2020.

When compared to the same period of 2019, overnight stays declined by 79.7% (-53.3% for residents and -90.1% for non-residents). During this period, income fell 47.8% in total and by 46.3% relative to income from room lets.

In total, tourist accommodation establishments, camping and holiday camps and youth hostels hosted 2.4 million guests and 5.6 million overnight stays between January and May 2021, equal to drops of 40.8% and 45.7%, respectively, year-on-year.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, May 2021 saw the third-highest number of overnight stays by Britons (200,000), only surpassed by August (217,000) and September (343,000) of 2020, when the air corridor between the United Kingdom and Portugal first opened.

Translation: Richard D K Turner