The Algarve Hotels and Resorts Association (AHRA) has reported a 6.4% increase in the number of British tourists staying in Algarve accommodation this past July. Also on the positive side, the AHRA report highlighted that the most significant increase was in the Irish market, which had shown an increase of 13.7% in the number of tourists visiting the Algarve region.
On the contrary, the Dutch and German markets showed the largest decreases. The report stated that the number of Dutch tourists visiting the Algarve had decreased by 17.5% since last year, and that German tourists had decreased by 13.9%.
Overall, the average occupancy rate of the Algarve accommodation units that are studied by the AHRA was 82.5%, about 3% below what it was in the same period last year.
Furthermore, according to AHRA's accounts, since the beginning of this year the average occupancy rate has changed similarly to the way in which the increase in tourists was seen over the first few months of 2018.
Although the occupancy rate has declined, AHRA reported that “sales volume has remained unchanged from the same month of the previous year and has accumulated an increase of 2.7% since the beginning of the year'.