By PAULO SILVESTRE & DAISY SAMPSON news@algarveresident.com
Car hire companies in the Algarve claim difficult access to credit and the economic crisis have forced them to reduce their fleets, leaving the region’s tourism sector struggling to meet tourist demand during the high season for the second year running.
The lack of hire cars available to tourists during the summer in the Algarve may mean increased business for taxi drivers, however, tourism experts are concerned about the sector being hit by yet another crisis.
Holidaymakers often book a hire car when purchasing a holiday package in their country, collecting it from the airport upon arrival at the destination. However, this scenario looks bleak for the months of July and August.
Armando Santana, president of ARA, Association for Rent-a-Car Companies in the Algarve, told Correio da Manhã newspaper: “Hire car companies have already told tourist operators to stop booking cars for late July and early August as there are no vehicles available for that period.
“The rent-a-car sector has been severely affected by the economic crisis and banks making access to credit extremely difficult, so fleets have had to be reduced.”
Despite not being in possession of exact figures, ARA estimates that the reduction may be a further 15 to 20 per cent over the same period last year, representing a shortage of 2,000 cars available for hire. Armando Santana added: “This leads to fewer profits for rent-a-car companies and, therefore, fewer jobs in the sector.”
Matt May, director of Blue Valley Car Hire, told the Algarve Resident: “We had problems with car hire shortages last year and this year looks like it will be just as bad if not worse.
“We experienced shortages at Easter and now we may have the same problem in July and August. But Spain is in a similar situation.
Disappointment
“There is a possibility that these shortages will put off potential tourists to the region, especially those who have a bad experience such as arriving to find that their booking has been cancelled or being offered two small cars instead of a minibus.
“The economic downturn has created the problem. Local rental companies have reduced the size of their fleets as they cannot afford to lease the extra vehicles, and vehicle suppliers have become less flexible.
“Hopefully when the recession eases, credit will be more freely available and car rental companies will be able to boost the size of their fleets,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for YorCar.com reiterated the concerns of Matt May: “Last year we experienced shortages in the number of vehicles available for hire in the Algarve during the high season.
“This summer we are expecting there to be problems again with demand outweighing the supply of vehicles available for rent.”
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