Portuguese hoteliers increasingly are admitting that Brexit is hitting their figures and that in 2019, the number of British visitors will decline further.
The departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit) is increasingly being cited as a constraint to hotel profits and growth, according to a survey of Portuguese hoteliers carried out by the Association of Hospitality of Portugal, with its members commenting on 2018 and their prospects for 2019.
In this year's review, the hoteliers respond that, for the first time ever in the Algarve, there have been more Portuguese guests than British ones. Nationally, this inversion is expected to happen in 2019.
The rise in the number of home grown customers in Portugal’s hotels is a clear sign of greater financial power and the good figures from the North and Centre of the country show the results of a strong promotional activity.
Bookings for Christmas and New Year's Eve 2018/19 are led by Portuguese and then Spanish revellers, with the British being the sixth, down from third place last year.
The 2019 prediction is that national tourists will continue to grow in numbers, as will the number of visitors from Spain and France while the British continue to decline.
In terms of growth opportunities, hoteliers listed the United States, China and Brazil depending on air route availability.
The survey showed low optimism regarding revenue growth, with the hoteliers expecting a "clear slowdown" in occupancy rates and a continuation of the current stagnation in average length of stay.
Brexit already has taken bites out of the British market in Portugal and, with the political mess continuing in London, a hard Brexit inevitably will hit hotels right in the bottom line.
