Just last week, Elidérico Viegas from the Algarve hoteliers’ association AHETA said that the region’s hotels were expected to be near 100% capacity for the Easter season.
But with the fuel crisis that has erupted this week in Portugal, he fears that visitors may cancel their holiday in the Algarve as they may be unable to travel to the region.
“If a quick solution is not found, we fear that many people may not come,” he told Lusa news agency.
“For the Portuguese to come here, they need a means of transportation. We are going to have thousands of tourists in the Algarve without fuel to get around or even gas to cook their meals. How is this possible?”
Viegas also criticised the government for “forgetting about the Algarve” when mentioning the “minimum services” that have been guaranteed in Lisbon and Porto, stressing that the region is Portugal’s largest tourist destination.
While fuel deposits have been replenished at Faro Airport, the hotel boss is adamant that the issue remains.
“How will people make it from the airport to hotels? They can’t walk! How will there be airport transfers or hire cars?
“The situation in the Algarve is too serious to not take immediate measures,” he concluded.
