According to data from Yescapa, a private motorhome rental platform, there are already 500 confirmed reservations for the summer in Portugal, which translates into 3,500 travel days booked, in addition to 50 reservations made for the last two weekends.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the plans of many Portuguese, who are now looking for alternatives for their summer holidays. One of these alternatives is now motorhomes with many Portuguese choosing this way of travelling for the first time, based on 78 percent of visitors to the Yescapa website saying that it is the first time that they choose to travel by motorhome.

Yescapa have recorded this year an increase of almost 400% of visits on the site and an increase of 50% of confirmed reservations, when compared with the same period of the previous year. There is also an increase in the number of owners who want to make their motorhomes more profitable. Yescapa now has 600 vehicles registered in Portugal available on its website, while the number was 420 at the end of 2019.

The profile of the Portuguese who have made reservations is mainly families between aged between 35 and 45 years old, with one or two children. The most frequent travel routes are the Costa Vicentina, a roadtrip through the Douro, through Estrada Nacional 2 and Alentejo. There is also a trend for last minute bookings.

“We have come to realise that, over the last few years, motorhomes are increasingly a trend in Portugal. With the period of deflation, we saw a huge increase in demand, especially from the third week of May. We anticipate that the number of reservations will reach 1,550 during the summer ”, says Julie Da Vara, Chief Operating Officer of Yescapa globally. “In addition to being a safe way to travel, motorhome driving can also be a way of boosting local economies and the perfect opportunity to get to know Portugal better”.