Published on : Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Ryan Opaz, CEO of Porto-based destination management company Catavino said that there was definitely a bit of a scramble to catch up with the tourism. It kind of hit all at once, and Portugal never really was set up to handle this type of mass tourism. And higher-end hotels were definitely a missing part.
In 2018 the number of visitors to the country rose for an eight consecutive year. It climbed 7.5% to 22.8 million. As compared to 2017 the growth rate was notably lower than the 16.6% surge in visitors and the hotel development still lagged behind.
The Portugal’s tourism accommodation sector grew year over year 4.3% to 6,868 establishment as of July 2018.
According to Ingrid Koeck, a partner at Portuguese hotel group Torel Boutiques Portugal still needs to come up to an international level in terms of hospitality, but it’s picking up quickly.
Marita Barth, general manager for the Grand House Algarve said they were still in a town untouched by typical tourism, but felt they are lucky as the projects starting here are all small and high in standards. There has been an evolution towards quality and not quantity.
In the mid 2017 the Portuguese government has launched a program to further spur high-quality hotel development. This will convert some of the country’s more decrepit historical monuments and buildings into hotels and other hospitality ventures.
Private developers will be submitting project proposals and will be subjected to concessions that would last upto 50 years.
During the concession period the developer will pay the state rent as part of an arrangement.Ana Mendes Godinho, Portuguese secretary of state for tourism, called it “very attractive to investors.”
The revive will contribute to the rehabilitation and maintenance of our heritage. The investors want to generate revenue which is significant element of social responsibility.
Tags: Portugal