Portuguese tourism reports the worst results in almost 40 years

The Portuguese tourism sector, one of the key to the Portuguese economy, recorded the worst results in almost four decades last year. Developments in the sector have been affected by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, which has led to a radical reduction in air traffic and the closure of hotels and restaurants. According to data from the Portuguese statistical office published by Reuters, less than four million foreign tourists stayed in Portuguese hotels in 2020. Compared to the record year of 2019, this represents a drop of almost 76 percent. In that year, Portuguese hotels registered 16.4 million foreign visitors. As for overnight stays by foreign tourists, their number fell by 75 percent last year to 12.3 million. This is the lowest number of overnight stays in Portugal since 1984. The number of Britons, who are among the most frequent visitors to Portuguese resorts, has dropped significantly. The number of overnight stays by British tourists fell by 78% last year. The number of overnight stays by the Chinese and Americans also dropped sharply. Total hotel revenues fell by 66 percent last year, the statistical office added. An even more significant drop in sales was prevented by domestic tourists. The Portuguese government announced last week that it is preparing another aid package for the tourism sector. It should include contributions or deferral of loan repayments. It responded to the warning of the association of hotel owners that without targeted support, another 100,000 people will lose their jobs this year.