This year tourism is expected to break records both in terms of number of stays and revenue, with hoteliers pointing to an increase in bookings and an increase in prices per night during the festive season.

The average price per night during the end of the year (from December 30th to January 2nd) will reach 169 euros, 5 euros more (3% increase) than the average recorded of 164 euros last year. And the occupancy level, which on December 10 already reached 58% nationally, should still rise to 75%, hoteliers predict, exceeding the 61% of reservations for 2022 during this period.

For Christmas, from December 22nd to 26th, the average price per night rises 14%, from 118 euros to 135 euros this year. Reservations, which on the 10th of this month were at 44%, are expected to rise to 56% occupancy, above the 50% recorded last year.

These are some of the results of the survey carried out between November 27th and December 10th by the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP), released this Tuesday, with 293 establishments surveyed.

In the Lisbon metropolitan area, where reservations will be between 62% and 83%, 202 euros will be the cost per night for New Year's Eve. 18 euros more (10%) than the 184 euros charged last year. But it is in the Algarve where the “most significant increase” will occur, rising from 133 euros to 161 euros per night in 2023. In this area of the country, reservations will be between 60% and 74%, above the 61% occupancy achieved last year.

Price drops

And in Madeira – where the highest price in the country is charged and where the end of the year has a lot of influence for hoteliers as it is one of the most sought after destinations – there is a surprise: prices will fall. This year, points out AHP, average prices in this region will be set at 250 euros per night. 18 euros less (around 7%) compared to the amount charged last year, set at 268 euros per night.

"It's a surprise. We were not expecting this drop, which reveals a serious slowdown in the price charged, especially when there is an interesting occupancy rate”, between 87% and 92%, confesses Cristina Siza Vieira, executive vice-president of AHP, without giving any reason for this trend.

But Madeira is not the only region of the country where prices will fall during the end of the year. In the North, where reservations will be between 53% and 68%, the average price will drop by 12 euros (8.6%), going from 150 euros to 138 euros per night.

Main markets

Among the main markets mentioned by hoteliers for New Year's Eve, 50% of those questioned point to the Spanish, 34% to the English, and in third place are the Americans with 32%. Brazilians follow with 22% of hoteliers citing this as their main market and the top five is completed by Germans, with 20%. But the vast majority of hotels will be occupied by Portuguese, with 81% of respondents citing Portugal as the main market.