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The representative of the Portuguese Hospitality Association (AHT) in the Algarve said that “there are British clients who anticipate” the departure of the hotel units, due to the uncertainty of the closure of the air corridor between the United Kingdom and Portugal.
“The news of a possible closure of the air corridor is already causing great concern, particularly among customers currently in the Algarve, and some are asking to anticipate their return to England,” the association’s leader, João Soares, told Lusa .
The regional leader of the association, which represents more than 60% of national hoteliers, said that, in addition to anticipating departures, there are also reservation cancellations: “At the moment, this cancellation already has a considerable number.”
João Soares affirmed that hoteliers view the situation with great concern, considering that a British decision to restore the mandatory quarantine upon arrival in British territory, from Portugal, due to the covid-19 pandemic, “does not make much sense, because the Algarve meets the pollution ratios and is the region least affected by contagions ”.
The association leader defends that “the Algarve should be treated differently, because the region should not be penalized by the contagion rate that exists in other areas of the country.”
“We are highly dependent on the British market, which has a substantial impact on the month of September,” stressed João Soares, adding that hoteliers are very concerned, especially since the associated companies were asked to operate during the month of September. “.
The director of the Hotel Dom José Beach, in Quarteira, reinforced the concern of AHP associates “at the imminence of having to take a step back from what has been achieved in a region that complies with the due in terms of the number of cases.” of covid-19.
For his part, the president of the Association of Hotels and Tourist Companies of the Algarve (AHETA) told the Lusa agency that, “at the moment, there is still no record” of British tourists who are returning to their country due to the news that point to a possible decision by the UK Government to reinstate the quarantine requirement upon arrival in British territory.
“What can be said is that this is not good news and, if it happens, it will bring enormous losses to the region and the country,” said AHETA President Elidérico Viegas, highlighting that “the British market is strategic and a priority for the region represents more than a third of overnight stays and tourists and, in terms of income, it represents more because ‘per capita’ spending is higher than the average ‘for visitors from other countries.
The hotels and tourist developments in the Algarve “hope that the British press is wrong this time,” added Elidérico Viegas, and stressed that “this is not the first time this has happened.”
The president of AHETA defended that “it makes no sense to consider Portugal as a whole as an unsafe destination when, in truth, the Algarve had very few infected people for every 100,000 inhabitants” and registers a value of “slightly more than two for every 100 thousand inhabitants ”. , which “meets European criteria” to be considered a safe destination.
“Penalizing regions like the Algarve because the areas of Lisbon and Porto have a greater number of infected people seems to me a little, not a little, it is a lot, unfair. And not only for us, but for British tourists themselves ”who want to visit the region, said the president of AHETA.
