Overnight Stays in Portugal Rise 2 Percent in September, the Fastest in Four Months, as Residents Travel More and Room Rates Climb

Portugal's tourist accommodation recorded 8.7 million overnight stays in September, 2.0 percent more than a year earlier and the strongest year-on-year growth in four months, according to flash estimates published on Friday by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE, Statistics Portugal). Residents of Portugal did more of the growing than foreign visitors, and prices rose faster than either.

INE's press release counts 3.4 million guests, up 2.5 percent. Total revenue reached 890.2 million euros (up 6.1 percent) and revenue from rooms 696.6 million euros (up 6.0 percent). The figures cover hotels, rural and lodging tourism, and local accommodation with ten or more beds. They are preliminary and will be revised next month.

Residents travel more

Overnight stays by residents rose 3.1 percent to 2.5 million, speeding up from 1.4 percent in August. Stays by non-residents grew 1.6 percent to 6.2 million, slightly slower than August's 1.9 percent. By our calculation, residents accounted for 29 percent of all nights.

INE's regional tables show where residents went. Their nights rose 8.0 percent in Greater Lisbon, 10.1 percent in the Setúbal Peninsula, 7.5 percent in the Centre and 4.8 percent in the North, but fell 2.0 percent in the Algarve and 11.1 percent in the Azores (all our calculations from INE's tables). The rise follows a weaker spring: INE reported earlier this week that residents' tourist trips fell 1.5 percent in the second quarter, with domestic trips down 3.8 percent.

Room rates outpace demand

The average daily rate (ADR), what guests paid per occupied room, rose 3.3 percent to 147.3 euros. Revenue per available room (RevPAR), which combines price and occupancy, rose 2.8 percent to 102.0 euros. Room occupancy was 69.3 percent, against 69.7 percent a year earlier, according to INE's annex. In other words, revenue grew about three times as fast as the number of nights because each night cost more, not because rooms filled up.

Rates climbed fastest outside the capital: up 7.8 percent in Oeste e Vale do Tejo, 7.4 percent in the Alentejo, 6.0 percent in Madeira and 5.0 percent in the North (our calculations from INE's tables). In Greater Lisbon, where the average rate is highest at 182.2 euros, it was almost unchanged (up 0.2 percent). For residents planning a weekend away, the steepest price rises were in the regions, not in Lisbon.

Regions and markets

• North: the fastest growth in nights, up 6.6 percent to 1.63 million, and total revenue up 10.3 percent. Porto's nights rose 5.6 percent.
• Greater Lisbon: nights up 2.8 percent to 1.93 million and revenue up 4.9 percent, after it was the only region where hotel revenue fell in August.
• Centre, Alentejo and Algarve: nights up 2.8 percent in the Centre, down 0.8 percent in the Alentejo and up 0.6 percent in the Algarve, which still had the most nights, 2.39 million. Alentejo revenue rose 9.3 percent.
• Islands: Madeira's nights rose 0.7 percent; the Azores' fell 1.6 percent.

The United Kingdom remained the largest foreign market, with 1.18 million nights (up 3.0 percent by our calculation), ahead of Germany, which fell 2.9 percent, and the United States, up 5.7 percent. Among the ten biggest markets, INE says Poland grew fastest (up 11.0 percent) and France fell most (down 5.5 percent).

The year so far

From January to September, the sector recorded 25.8 million guests (up 1.9 percent) and 66.0 million nights (up 1.5 percent): residents' nights rose 2.5 percent and non-residents' 1.1 percent. Total revenue was 6.02 billion euros, up 5.3 percent. The average stay in September was 2.57 nights, almost the same as a year earlier (2.58).