According to tourism activity statistics released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), “income values reached historical monthly maximums in August, with total income interrupting the deceleration trajectory with an increase of 7.8% (+7. 5% in July), reaching €948.1 million”.
Accommodation revenue increased by 7.7% (+8.1% in July), totalling 765.5 million euros.
The Algarve was the region that contributed most to total revenue (36.6% of total revenue and 36.4% of room revenue), followed by Greater Lisbon (20.2% and 20.9%, respectively) and of the North (14.4% and 14.5%, in the same order).
According to INE, all regions recorded growth in income, with the biggest increases occurring in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (+23.4% in total income and +24.7% in accommodation) and in Alentejo (+12.6 % and +13.3%, respectively).
In August, the average income per available room (RevPAR) was €113.8 (+5.0%) and the average income per occupied room (ADR) reached €153.3 (+4.1%), reaching historic highs, although the West and Tagus Valley and Greater Lisbon recorded decreases.
ADR reached the highest values in the Algarve (205.7 euros) and Alentejo (162.5 euros).
In the month under review, the tourist accommodation sector registered 3.8 million guests (+5.9%) and 10.5 million overnight stays (+3.8%).
Considering the accumulated period from January to August, overnight stays registered growth of 4.1%, reaching 55.1 million, giving rise to year-on-year increases of 10.5% in total revenue and 10.4% in room revenue, to 4,500 and 3,500 million euros, respectively.
Non-residents
According to IBGE, this increase was mainly due to overnight stays by non-residents, which grew by 5.2%, while overnight stays by residents recorded lower growth (+1.5%).
In August, revenue growth was transversal to the three accommodation segments: in hotels, total and accommodation revenue (weights of 84.7% and 83.1% in total tourist accommodation, respectively) increased by 7.0% and 6.8%, while in local accommodation establishments, there were increases of 11.7% in total revenue and 11.8% in room revenue (shares of 10.1% and 11.5%, respectively).
In tourism in rural areas and housing (representing 5.2% of total income and 5.4% of income from accommodation), the increases were 14.1% and 13.8%, respectively.
In the month under analysis, the municipality of Lisbon accounted for 15.0% of total overnight stays (5.4% of total night stays for residents and 20.0% for non-residents), registering an increase of 5.2% (+4 .5% in residents and +5.3% in non-residents).
Albufeira was the second municipality in which the most overnight stays were recorded (1.2 million overnight stays, a weight of 11.4%) and recorded a decrease of 0.3% (+0.2% in July). Resident overnight stays increased by 9.6% and non-resident overnight stays decreased by 4.5%, with this municipality accounting for 10.8% of total resident overnight stays and 11.8% of total non-resident overnight stays.
Among the municipalities with the highest number of overnight stays in August, Porto (6.7% of total overnight stays) and Ponta Delgada (1.9% of the total) stood out with the highest growth (+6.9% and +6.5 %, respectively).
In all 10 municipalities with the highest number of overnight stays in August, overnight stays by non-residents exceeded those by residents.
Considering the majority of accommodation options (tourist accommodation establishments, camping and holiday camps and youth hostels), there were 4.3 million guests and 12.6 million overnight stays in August, reflecting growth of 5.4% and 3.2%, respectively.