“The Algarve is not in a competition for low prices. It is in a competition for medium-high prices,” said Hélder Martins, president of the Associação dos Hotéis e Empreendimentos Turísticos do Algarve (AHETA).
The leader of the region’s largest hotel association noted that in the first half of the year, revenue and occupancy rates among member units increased by about 3% compared to the previous year, and he expects growth of between 5% to 6% by the end of the summer.
Reservations for this summer are above those for 2024 at the same time, a trend that Hélder Martins attributes to the Algarve’s appeal, achieved through annual hotel unit refurbishments.
The AHETA president mentioned he does not know the number of Portuguese tourists heading to the Algarve, nor whether there will be an increase or decrease, with figures only available at the end of each month.
“[What is certain is] I can’t do business only with the Portuguese,” Hélder Martins asserts, adding that “if the Portuguese cannot afford to come to the Algarve and other countries are cheaper, it will be the law of competition that will prevail.”
This hotel manager concedes that prices in the sector increased by about 5% at the start of the year due to rising production costs, particularly wages.
On the other hand, João Soares, director of Hotel D. José in Quarteira, believes it is “premature” to say there will be fewer Portuguese vacationing in the Algarve this year.
“There has been no decrease in Portuguese clients so far, and I don’t think there will be when the balance is assessed at the end of August,” João Soares stated, adding, “even if it happens, it won’t be a significant variation.”
At the hotel he manages, business in the first half of this year exceeded that of 2024, with little change in tourist nationalities.
“There hasn’t been a decline in the number of Portuguese, although there is a trend for Portuguese to travel abroad, which is unrelated to prices,” João Soares notes.
The hotel director confirms the consumer price increases “which do not reach double digits,” stating that production costs have risen even more.
João Soares finds it easier to find employees to work in hospitality, but complained about the lack of professional training for these workers.
“I have between seven and eight people working at the bar, instead of just five, due to their lack of qualification,” he said.
