Newly imposed travel restrictions for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area are having an adverse effect on Algarve tourism businesses with the president of the Algarve hoteliers association (AHETA) seeing the new rules as being another nail in the Algarve tourism coffin.

Speaking to Lusa agency, Elidérico Viegas, the president of the Algarve Hotels and Touristic Enterprises Association (AHETA) considers that the restriction of circulation in and out of Lisbon during the weekend, “is another blow for the Algarve, a region that had high hopes that the national market will help to minimise losses being experienced in the international markets”.

“The restrictions somehow, whether you like it or not, always end up discouraging people who were thinking of spending the weekend in the Algarve”, said Elidérico Viegas.

The president of the main association of hoteliers and entrepreneurs in the Algarve believes that, according to the information he has, “many people are still deciding to spend the weekend” in the region.

“We have received many requests for information about whether, with reservations, people can leave the Lisbon region, similarly to what happened in previous situations. Right now, there is uncertainty as to whether people will be able to leave their places of residence”, he said.

Elidérico Viegas said that the increases in the number of Covid-19 infections and restrictions on the movement of people, "are not good news for the tourism sector and cause concern and consternation for hotel businesses".

“Hotel entrepreneurs, who are already facing the loss of the largest tourism market of the United Kingdom, are now also faced with internal limitations,” he said.

For Elidérico Viegas, the tourism sector “continues to exist in times of uncertainty, a difficult situation that no one connected to the sector wants to have”.