Hotel bookings in the Algarve dropped in March for the first time in a long time, but there’s a reason.
Regional hoteliers association AHETA says it is because Easter was in March last year – which meant numbers were particularly high.
Data for this year shows only 54.2% of rooms were booked, representing a dip of 1.4% compared to figures last year.
German (+1.6 %) and French (+0.7%) tourists were up, though there were fewer Portuguese (-2.2%), Spanish (-1.7%) and Dutch (-1.2%).
Tavira and Faro/Olhão were the areas where bookings grew the most (9.5% and 3.4% respectively), while there were fewer rooms booked in Vilamoura/Quarteira/Quinta do Lago (-9.1%) and Albufeira (-3.3%).
Business volume at hotels also dropped 1.3%, though the number of hotel bookings grew 4.4% between January and March compared to last year, said AHETA.
Meantime, the region is ready for the Easter onslaught, due to begin next weekend.
