The bankruptcy of Monarch Airlines has caused the cancellation of many group bookings at Algarve hotels during the winter season.
With the country’s tourism chiefs and government expecting a record 20 million overnight stays this year, the Monarch collapse and the Ryanair cancellations will affect the numbers, whatever the optimists are saying.
Desidério Silva, the much-quoted president of the Algarve’s tourist board, expects that other airlines will take up the slack created in the market.
If they do not, supply will be restricted and flight prices will rise on carriers still flying to Portugal.
The game of supply and demand, which affects the highly price-sensitive market for airline seats, will be played out slowly as it is no easy task for other low cost carriers suddenly to supply aircraft, pilots and crew fill the gap left by a major carrier that flew 1,650 flights into Faro during the first half of 2017, carrying around 270,000 passengers.
Desidério Silva says that this is a complicated situation that nobody likes, “but I believe there are ways to minimise the impacts and that UK tourists will continue to visit the Algarve all year round."
With the winter months traditionally dependent on UK tourists, the collapse of Monarch means contracts with Monarch Tourism Ltd will not be honoured and the race is on to attract other national groups to fill the new looming wintertime gap.
João Soares from Portugal’s hotels association said, "the intention is good, but if there are no airlines flying to Faro, goodbye. Monarch was a weighty player in the winter season, let's see if another airline replaces it, we hope so. We hope that the government, together with other airlines, will be able to make others aware of this gap that Monarch leaves open."
