The average occupancy rate per room in the Algarve was 43.9% in March this year, down 1.7% with income dropping by 4.2%, compared to March last year.
According to information disclosed by the region's hoteliers' association, AHETA, the markets that contributed to the fall in hotel occupation were Portuguese from within the country (-2.0%), Germans (-1.3%) and the Spanish (-0.8). UK tourists were up +0.6% and the Dutch, up +0.4%.
The Dona Maria II Bridge at the eastern approach to Lagos will finally be repaired after a two year closure, but not until 2015.
Joaquina Matos, the Lagos mayor said that an application for EU funding has been successful and the work could start this summer with an estimated completion date for June 2015. The work has a rather ample budget of €1 million.
Low-cost airline Ryanair today apologised for cancelling its new Faro to Lisbon service, saying it did not have the right sort of planes available for the service.
"Due to constrained aircraft capacity, we regret that Ryanair is not in a position to schedule the optimum timings and frequencies required on a domestic route such as this and has reallocated this limited capacity from the Faro-Lisbon route to elsewhere in Ryanair’s international network from 23rd April," reads a baffling company statement sent to press today in an attempt to fill the information void left after airports operator ANA announced Ryanair’s plans over the weekend.
More than half the residents of Britain refuse to pay more than £6 for a bottle of wine.
According to the study conducted by drinks specialist Harpers 54% said they would not spend more than £6 and only 7% say they would pay more than £10.
Marks & Spencer is planning an aggressive campaign of shop openings outside the UK.
It says it will launch 250 more stores abroad in the next three years, including 20 food outlets just in Paris.
The British auto industry has agreed overwhelmingly that Britain should stay in the EU, believing that access to the huge single market is vital to their success.
A survey by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) found 92% of car companies said the EU was best for their business. Nearly 70% said that leaving would damage their company in the medium to long term.
Mercedes Benz has estimated that all-in-all it will have brought €12 million to the Algarve from its two month staff training session in the Algarve.
The CS Group facilities at Herdade dos Salgados, Albufeira hosted Mercedes’ Global Training programme and provided an estimated 40,000 accommodation nights to the participants.
The Public Security Police have announced where they will be installing radar traps this month.
These operations are ‘to control the speed of drivers’ and are part of the PSP’s safety on the roads remit. Some fines also may be handed out - you have been warned...
