London, UK – As restrictions lower and Covid cases remain stable, the local tourism industry is showing a positive shift towards pre-pandemic levels, with hotel bookings across the country skyrocketing to 84.02% compared to the same period two years ago.
According to the SiteMinder World Hotel Index, Portugal has seen a huge spike in hotel bookings in just the last month alone. Reservation volumes have leapfrogged from around 34% on 10 April, to over 80% on 10 May, in comparison to the same dates two years prior.
Recovery of hotel bookings in Portugal among the fastest in Europe
Portugal was one of the 10 most visited countries in Europe in 2019, and, based on the data in the SiteMinder World Hotel Index, it, alongside Spain and Iceland form the three countries that have recovered the highest percentage of hotel bookings when compared to pre-pandemic data. Portugal is currently 25% above the global average, and around 12% above Spain.
By comparison, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Morocco have all recorded slower hotel booking momentum, below the global average.
Local bookings to Porto are currently outpacing bookings to both Madrid and Barcelona, relative to their 2019 levels, however are behind bookings to Málaga, Valencia and Sevilla in Spain.
Proving popular for last-minute trips due to shifting travel conditions, over 55% of reservations made to Portuguese hotels in the past two weeks have been for either May or June.
“Travel is certainly back on the agenda for Portugal,” says André Gois, Country Manager for Portugal at SiteMinder, the world’s largest open hotel commerce platform.
“As evidenced by the data, Portuguese hotel bookings have surged significantly in the last month alone, showing the excitement and confidence that people now have to travel within the country.”
He adds, “When compared with the rest of Europe, Portugal is performing very strongly in the hotel bookings arena, and based on the past month’s data, this appears to be an upward trend. It’s great to see our blossoming hotel industry back to embrace both our own people and international guests as well.”
For more information, visit siteminder.com/world-hotel-index.
Media contact
Maria Cricchiola
+61 2 8031 1287
media@siteminder.com
About SiteMinder
In an age of rising choice and accessibility for curious travellers, SiteMinder exists to liberate hoteliers with technology that makes a world of difference. SiteMinder is the world’s largest open hotel commerce platform, ranked among technology pioneers for its smart and simple solutions that put hotels everywhere their guests are, at every stage of their journey. It’s this central role that has earned SiteMinder the trust of more than 35,000 hotels, across 160 countries, to generate in excess of 100 million reservations worth over US$35 billion in revenue for hotels each year.