Complaints in the tourism sector have increased by approximately 21% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, with over 3,500 complaints received on the Portal da Queixa, mostly related to booking websites.
In a statement released on Friday, the Portal da Queixa highlighted that “consumers mainly point to issues with incorrect charges, communication failures, and security breaches/possible fraud” among tourism operators.
From January 1 to July 28, the Hotels, Travel, and Tourism category registered a total of 3,543 complaints.
The most complained segments include Travel Booking Sites (50.04%) and Airlines (19.70%). These are followed by Accommodation Booking Sites (11.40%), Marketplaces – Travel, Products, and Services (6.15%), and Travel Agencies (3.58%). Hotels accumulated 2.43% of the cases, and Airports accounted for 1.89% of occurrences.
The portal identified unauthorized charges as the primary complaint, constituting 57.24% of reports. These include “unauthorized charges or debits, non-executed refunds, payment/transaction issues, price increases, missing/wrong prices, and other payment-related inconsistencies.”
Communication/information failures make up 9.91% of complaints, data security breaches and potential fraud reports account for 7.71%, and poor company conduct is the cause in 7.37% of cases. Flight and reservation cancellations/delays represent 6.38% of complaints.
The majority of complaints originate from Lisbon (33.53%) and Porto (16.79%), with a higher incidence among female consumers (55.80%). The most represented age group is 25 to 34 years.
Pedro Lourenço, founder of the Portal da Queixa, remarked in the statement that the increase in tourism complaints, driven by “misinformation and lack of customer support,” challenges the sector’s trust and reputation.
“We have observed an increase in complaints directed at various players in the tourism sector, from travel agents, booking sites, airlines, to hotel chains, for a variety of reasons. However, many consumers cite misinformation and lack of customer support as main causes, revealing disorganization and problem-resolution incapability, undermining sector confidence and reputation,” Lourenço emphasized.
“Unfortunately, we continue to witness the apathy of regulators, who are powerless against offers published online, particularly through digital booking platforms, which should be countered by actions that increase consumer digital literacy,” he added.
