Those who think that the pandemic made the tourism sector decelerate are completely wrong! According to the National Record of Tourist Accommodation (RNAL), only in the first trimester of this year, the number of Tourist Accommodations has increased 160% compared to the first trimester of last year, making it one of the most expressive growths on the national map.
Nowadays, there are 101.440 accommodations registered in Portugal; out of these, 25.718 accommodations are located in Lisbon. A surprise to many, it is the city of Faro which leads this list. In the Algarve region, there are nowadays 38.056 tourist accommodations – and new permits are growing in this district.
Know more about it in the graph below:
Graph Translation:
Tourist Accommodation – New permits on the first trimester of 2022
Variation compared to the first trimester of 2021
In Lisbon, we can see that the number of tourist accommodations has soared in the first trimester of this year. Between January and March 2022, 738 new accommodations were registered, an increase of 382% compared to the same period in 2021 and 25% in 2019. This race for the obtainment of new permits was instigated by the policy which defines the immediate suspension of new TA permits for a period of six months, prolongable for up to a year, in 14 of the 24 parishes from Lisbon.
We have recently talked about the containment zones in Lisbon and presented a complete map. Check it out in the link!
Until March, the number of new TAs has soared in many areas of the country, emphasising the North. The offer in Porto has also gone up 98% (256 new TAs), compared to 2021, and 11% over 2019. Braga, Vila Real and Viana do Castelo also stand out in this first trimester with increases on new permits of 112%, 155% and 140%, respectively.
In the Centre, Leiria has also witnessed an increase in new TAs, summing up to 4897 registered accommodations total. In the first trimester of 2022, it saw its offer increase 166%. Setúbal has registered 105 new TAs until march (+156%).
The recovery has also been felt in the bookings. Although we still haven’t gone up to pre-pandemic values, in January and February 765 thousand bookings were registered, an increase of 187% compared to 2021, according to the data shared by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Translated by Joana Teixeira
