Almost half (48.3%) of tourists who had planned to visit Portugal in 2020 would still visit if travel restrictions were lifted, according to a survey by Portugalist.com. Of those that plan to visit this year, 52.7% hope to visit Portugal in the autumn or winter compared to 30.4% who hope to visit in the summer.
Portugalist.com’s survey of more than 700 of its readers looked at how coronavirus would affect tourism in Portugal in 2020 and beyond, and how those visiting Portugal might travel differently to previous years. Respondents from 46 countries took part, with the bulk of the respondents coming from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. According to James Cave, owner of Portugalist.com, “While there are still a lot of questions about safety and travel in the age of coronavirus, this survey suggests that there are still a lot of people who would be willing to visit Portugal this year. With the majority of those expecting to visit Portugal around September, and with many of those expecting to change the way they travel, all of this unsurprisingly indicates a very different tourist season.”
Portugal’s response to the coronavirus crisis may be one of the reasons that so many people are willing to travel to Portugal this year. 82% of those that had planned to visit Portugal this year have been following news stories about coronavirus in Portugal and 78.9% of those said that Portugal had done a good job. Just 2.9% said that Portugal had done a bad job in handling the coronavirus situation with the remainder saying they didn’t know.
But although the survey was quite positive for the tourism industry in Portugal overall, it did highlight changes that could affect specific sectors.
● 26.7% said they would be less likely to stay in a hotel.
● 34.8% said they would be more likely to stay in a private apartment or house.
● 35.9% said they would be less likely to use public transport.
● 29.6% said they would be more likely to rent a car.
Cruise travel was the most affected sector with 66.4% saying that they would be less likely to book a cruise as a result of coronavirus.
The full details of the study can be found HERE
About Portugalist.com
Portugalist is the leading travel blog about Portugal, both for travellers and for expats living in Portugal. Launched in 2016, the site is visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors every month and provides information on everything from things to do to guides on learning Portuguese.
For more information, visit Portugalist.com
