MORE AND more British and Irish tourists are visiting the Algarve and staying in regional accommodation, according to the latest tourism figures.
Figures released in a report by the Associação dos Hoteís e Empreendimentos Turísticos do Algarve (AHETA), the Algarve’s hotel and tourist development association, show that the overall movement of passengers at Faro airport increased by 9.2 per cent last month compared with September 2006.
British and Irish tourists contributed the most to this figure, with an increase of 12.1 per cent and 22.8 per cent from each country respectively.
Visitors from Holland marked the greatest fall in numbers compared to last year, down 11.2 per cent.
The total figure for room occupancy in the region in September was 87.6 per cent, up 3.6 per cent on last year’s figure, with significant rises in Praia da Rocha, Lagoa, Sagres, Faro, Tavira and Monte Gordo.
Only Carvoeiro and Armação de Pêra recorded a fall in the number of occupied bedrooms, down 1.8 per cent compared to the same time last year.
British and Irish visitors also represent the greatest number of night stays, followed by the Portuguese and then German nationals.
Two, three and five star hotels registered the greatest number of increases compared to last year, whereas four and five star apartments and villages registered a decrease of 3.3 per cent in the number of visitors.
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