The closure rate of hotels in the Algarve during the low season is growing and the measures taken by the Government to combat seasonality have fallen short of target.
The president of the Association of Hotels and Resorts in the Algarve (AHETA), Elidérico Viegas, said that that the closure of hotels during the winter "is a trend that has been observed to be on the increase in recent years, this year too."
The AHETA boss gave a positive assessment of the measures announced by the Government to combat seasonality and avoid the increase in the unemployment rate in low season, specifically the Algarve Training initiative, which aims to encourage staff training during periods of lower activity for hotel companies, but he was critical of its execution.
"The idea is good, but the measure falls short of what is desirable.” The state "gives with one hand and takes away with the other" when it "subsidises training in low season, but forces companies to pay taxes on the subsidies."
Tiago Jacinto, head of the Hospitality Association of the Algarve noted that during the closure periods there are hotels where "workers will 'take' compulsory holidays" while in other cases short term contracts are ended.
Antonio Goulart of the Trade Union of the Algarve affirmed that when considering the measures that the Government has taken on combating seasonality, such as the Algarve Training program, they have had no effect," adding that overall "the conditions are not good and I knew from the outset that the support measure would not produce tangible effects."
If the supply of tourists is not there, then hotel owners will of course close units that would otherwise run at an off season loss. The continuous bleating from Viegas does him nor his members any favours and it remains to be seen what initiatives he himself will develop to counter the problems of seasonality. An over-reliance on central government to solve his members' problems is not a sensible strategy, nor is the carping when hotel companies sensibly trim supply to accommodate the off season demand.
