The continued boom in national tourism sees yet another 40 new hotels opening their doors in Portugal this year. The new tally follows the 40 that opened in 2015, and 26 which started operation last year. On top of this, writes Dinheiro Vivo, 11 establishments are investing in major ‘upgrades’ and relaunches.
Said Cristina Siza Vieira, president of hotels association AHP: “2017 is looking very promising. Expectations are that it will be even better for hotels than 2016. We are seeing a recovery in tourism, and this is generating confidence among investors.
“According to our research, openings are focused mostly in the areas of Lisbon and Porto”, she said, “but there are some investments in the pipeline for other regions, particularly the centre”.
With 15 hotels due to open in Lisbon, just the Porto town of Invicta is expecting six – and some of these will be opening during the first half of the year, says Dinheiro Vivo.
AHP data suggests another six hotels will be opening in the centre, “one in the Alentejo and three in the Algarve”.
As for renovations/ relaunches, these include three in the north, two in the centre, two in the Lisbon area, one in the Alentejo and another three in the Algarve.
But that’s not an end to the good news for the sector. “If the investment horizon extends another three years, Portugal could end up with up to 100 new hotels”, said DinheiroVivo – citing the government’s ambitious Revive programme which will be bringing 30 heritage monuments into the mix, starting in 2018 (click here).
