The Algarve’s hotel sector celebrated its “best April since 2000”.
Data from regional hoteliers association AHETA shows that 65.4% of hotels were booked last month, the most since the turn of the century, when bookings stood at 66.1%.
The fact that Easter took place later than usual, close to the April 25 and May 1 holidays, “had a positive effect”, AHETA explained.
The favourable scenario saw more Portuguese (+2.5 percentage points) in regional hotels followed by more Germans (+1.6pp) and Spanish (+1.2pp). There were only slightly fewer Dutch (-0.5pp) and British (-0.2pp).
Further data shows that Lagos/Sagres (+17.4pp), Portimão/Praia da Rocha (+12.6pp) and Carvoeiro/Armação de Pêra (+11.4pp) were the areas where bookings grew most.
Business volume at hotels also increased by 17.3%.
On a closing note, AHETA adds that bookings are up 6% in the first four months of 2017 compared to last year.
