Alentejo Hotel Units: Festive season occupancy exceeding 2023

Source: ECO Sapo.

In Évora, occupancy “is approaching 100%”, says the president of Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo. Hotels and tourist units in Alentejo have a “very high” percentage of reservations for Christmas and New Year's Eve, higher than last year, the president of the regional tourism entity (ERT) indicated this Tuesday.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, the president of Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo, José Manuel Santos, recalled that during this festive period “normally the occupancy rate of Alentejo hotels is very high” and “2024 will not be very different from previous years”. According to data collected by ERT, he continued, “more than half of the hotels indicate that occupancy during the Christmas period is very high and will be higher than the previous year”. “We expect occupancy above 50% in Natal, while in the New Year more than 75% of hotel units say they expect better occupancy” than in 2023, he said. In Évora, occupancy “is close to 100%”, added José Manuel Santos, admitting, however, that in Alentejo “there are some variations, because the region is very differentiated and heterogeneous” in terms of accommodation.

“But, in general, we already have a forecast of reservations made above 75%,” he said. The president of Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo also recalled that “many last-minute reservations” tend to arise and, therefore, occupancy “will grow” and the region will have “an excellent end of the year”. On the other hand, he added, an “interesting fact” found this year is that the region “starts to have international tourists” during this festive period. “Foreigners are starting to look for Alentejo towards the end of the year, especially some more differentiated hotels and some rural tourism units”, he said, specifying that they are Brazilian, North American, German and Spanish tourists, which makes the region It’s not just “for Portuguese people’s New Year’s Eve, it’s increasingly also for international tourists”.

In addition to Évora, “much sought after due to its centrality and prestige in the hotel industry”, “other tourist centers are beginning to have some expression”, such as “Odemira, which has an interesting New Year's Eve and many rural tourism units and small hotels that are full, or the Tróia-Melides axis”, according to the person responsible. From the round carried out by Lusa at hotel establishments, it was possible to see that expectations are positive. At the four-star Octant Évora hotel, located in a rural parish, the general director, Sérgio Duarte, said he expects Christmas and New Year's Eve this year to surpass those of 2023, given the “significant growth in occupancy rates” from one year to the next.

“ On December 25th, we already have an occupancy rate of around 60% and, for New Year's Eve, around 70%”, he indicated, noting that the majority of reservations are from Portuguese. At the Hilton Garden Inn Évora, also four stars and close to the historic center, occupancy for Christmas exceeds 50% and for New Year's Eve 80%, according to the general director of the Mercan Properties Group's hotels in Alentejo, André Ornelas.

“Demand is mostly national, representing around 75% of guests, with the remainder made up of Spaniards, Brazilians and North Americans”, he explained. The person in charge also revealed that the new Holliday Inn, operating in Beja since September, “has a solid occupancy for Christmas, with around 60%” and, by the end of the year, “it is currently at 50%”, and is expected “a significant increase in bookings in the coming days”. In the opinion of the general director, those who choose the region to spend these days are looking for “quiet destinations with a quality offer of both accommodation and gastronomy”. 

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