“Events like this [of the WYD] are important for the exposure of Portugal, they attract tourists for the future” and the “positive effects can be felt in the long term”, but the very “spirit of the event”, with the people staying in schools and other institutions “are not a short-term business opportunity”, said Eduardo Miranda, president of the Associação de Alojamento Local in Portugal (ALEP).

In a telephone interview with the Lusa agency within the scope of WYD, Eduardo Miranda explained that the Local Accommodation (AL) sector in Lisbon is not exhausted and that “about a thousand houses” are still available on the Airbnb platform.

WYD is not having direct or indirect short-term effects on the AL sector, because traditional tourists know about the event and avoid the city, booking their stays for another week.

“The occupancy numbers are very similar to the previous year”, he concluded.

More than a million people are expected in Lisbon for WYD, with the Pope.

He arrives in Lisbon on Wednesday, at 10:00 am, at the Figo Maduro Air Base, in Lisbon.