This year, in the Algarve, most conversations were held in Portuguese, which is a bit unusual. This is because, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), in the summer, the domestic market reached historical values in the Algarve, having had a prominent place in national tourism.
According to information shared by Turismo do Algarve, the domestic market exceeded the expectations of the tourist accommodation sector for the high season, contributing 3.6 million overnight stays between July and September 2021, which corresponds to a 30% increase over the same period in 2019, which was the best year ever for tourism in Portugal.
We even talked about this subject recently in another article on our blog. Be sure to read it and confirm that domestic tourism is taking up more and more space in the country, which shows that the Portuguese have taken the opportunity to get to know more of Portugal during the most difficult times. Read here.
According to INE data, the Algarve registered 858 thousand overnight stays by Portuguese tourists in September (+30.5%), 1.7 million in August (+37%), and 1 million in July (+19.2%), results that represent, in each month, historic highs for the domestic market in the region. Thus, the domestic market contributed to consolidate the process of recovery of the tourist activity in the Algarve, which concentrated 38.1% of overnight stays in the quarter in Portugal.
However, what was to be expected, given the restrictions lifted by the British government and, of course, the instability of foreign tourism due to the pandemic situation, the Algarve received about 2.6 million overnight stays in the third quarter of the year, a decrease of more than 58% or, in figures, less 2.8 million overnight stays compared to 2019.
In total, Algarve Tourism closed the Summer of 2021 with a decline of more than 31% in overnight stays compared to 2019. Adding up the overnight stays of residents and non-residents in tourist accommodation establishments this year, they recorded nearly 6.2 million overnight stays in July, August, and September. A less expressive number than 2019, however, is very positive to highlight that the sector is slowly returning.
Learn all the data directly on the INE website.
Translated by Miguel Marinho Soares
