This year’s survey, which is regularly carried out by the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP) among its associates just ahead of Easter and is based on reservations already made, shows that the majority of hotels should register a better performance this year than in 2014, both in terms of revenue and average room prices.
With regard to occupant and Food & Beverage revenue, forecasts are also of growth and that the majority of units expect results to be identical to last year’s.
The survey also found that Portugal and Spain are the main source markets of guests, except in Madeira, where the majority of visitors will be German, and the biggest slice of reservations were made via the hotels’ own websites.
According to the analysed data Madeira and Lisbon can expect the biggest growth in revenue, but the most optimistic hotel operators were found to be in the Azores and central Portugal.
Hotels in the Alentejo were the most reserved in terms of expectations, with only 29 percent of participants involved in the survey saying they thought this Easter will be better than last year.
Cristina Siza Vieira, executive president of the AHP, said: “In general, hoteliers are optimistic regarding Easter 2015 but, unlike last year, when improvements were expected in all indicators, this year forecasts for F&B revenue as well as for room occupation are conservative. Most responding associates provided figures similar to 2014. Also of note was the Azores, where forecasts for the Easter weekend [4 and 5 April] are quite positive, but not so much for the extended period of the Easter holiday.
“It is our belief – given the growth in reservations that have been made in recent times - that this is due to the start of low-cost flights to the Azores on 29 March.”
Following the liberalisation of routes to the Azores announced last year, a number of airlines including low-cost companies easyJet and Ryanair announced flights to and from the autonomous region.
Destination-wise, in terms of occupation and revenue per available room, the Azores emerged as the most promising region for the Easter weekend, with the Alentejo and the Algarve seeming the most stable.