The Algarve’s hotel and resort sector indeed has excelled this September as figures released by its trade association show an 85.8% occupancy rate for the month.
The performance was led by hotels in the Portimão area with Praia da Rocha noted as the 'champion' of the month, with a 93.7% room occupancy rate.
The improving tourism business across the Algarve created a 6% rise in occupancy compared to September 2014 with the AHETA trade body commenting that "all geographical areas and categories of activity registered increases", while noting that German, British and Dutch customers has increased the most.
According to AHETA, hotels and apartment hotels with a four-star rating had an average occupancy of 88.9% and was the leading category as customers opted for a bit of luxury combined with sensible price levels.
Albufeira, the Algarve's tourist hot spot recorded an 86.3% occupancy rate for the month and across the sector the cash taken was up 7.5% compared to September 2014.
In late September the Secretary of State for Tourism Adolfo Mesquita Nunes said that he believed that "the greater the demand, the higher the prices that can be charged."
The market will find its own price level to balance occupancy with profitability and hotel workers unions have noted with disappointment the lag in wage rises as the sector starts to get back into gear with many workers still being 'paid low and paid late.'
One hotel that no longer will be included in the regional statistics is the Porta Nova Hotel in Tavira, pictured above, which, despite booming regional tourism figures, forcibly was seized and shut down in an illegal action by Novo Banco.
The state owned bank’s legal representatives and members of a private security firm swooped on October 1st, changed the hotel's front door locks and making sure the premises were cleared of staff and guests in a dispute over borrowings.
