Algarve hotel boss predicts extremely busy summer but warns destination needs strategic investment to stay ahead
As the Algarve braces for another exceptionally busy summer, hoteliers are calling for strategic investments to maintain the Algarve’s pristine reputation as a leading tourism destination.
Despite strong demand and new tourist routes, industry figures warn that without urgent upgrades to transport, public services, and the overall visitor experience, the region’s status as a top destination could be at risk.
“In the Algarve, we have to take care of our golden goose. We may welcome new tourists and new flight routes, but the tourism product must reinvent itself,” said Hélder Martins, president of the Algarve hotelier association (AHETA), during the Tourism 30+ Conference held in Albufeira last week.
His statements came as a wake-up call for a region whose economy depends almost exclusively on tourism.
While the Algarve has been achieving its goal of attracting more tourists from new markets – such as the launch of the new United Airlines route, which links the Algarve directly to the USA for the first time – Martins stressed that sun, beaches, and leading marinas and golf courses alone are no longer enough to compete in a global market.
Tourists now expect a seamless experience – not just inside and around hotels, but also at airports, on roads, and in public transport.
At Faro Airport, especially, many tourists have been ‘greeted’ by long queues at passport control, in some cases waiting up to three hours. “This is a problem that needs to be urgently addressed,” Martins told the Resident. While a border police reinforcement has been announced by PSP police for Faro Airport, the hotel association boss says the issue must be dealt with swiftly. “If it isn’t, it could bring serious issues in the future.”
The problem also continues once tourists are past the passport control. Some roads, like the Algarve’s EN125, continue to lack vital improvements, while tourists looking to travel by train are faced with outdated train carriages – some over 50 years old. “This is not the kind of image a top destination wants to show tourists,” said Martins.
Recent cases of violence in tourist hotspots like Albufeira and Praia da Rocha have also brought unwanted attention to the Algarve. “Some municipalities already have municipal police, but others don’t, and this is one way to fight the problem,” said Martins, also calling for further investment in CCTV surveillance. “The existing systems have been working well, helping authorities identify criminals.”
Summer police reinforcements happen every year, but Martins believes the Algarve needs bolstered numbers all-year-round as the region welcomes more and more tourists outside the peak summer season.
“Everything we offer must be perceived as high quality. Otherwise, the planes will fly elsewhere, and the tourists will go elsewhere.”
His concerns have taken on added urgency in light of new figures showing more Portuguese are choosing to holiday abroad this summer. According to the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAV), sales of overseas travel packages are up 15% compared to last year.
Miguel Quintas, president of ANAV, notes that sun-seekers are increasingly choosing destinations like the Caribbean and North Africa, where prices are often lower for a higher perceived value.
“Prices in the Algarve can reach €1,000 to €1,500 per week in high season. Meanwhile, you can get a five-star all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic for between €1,100 and €1,700,” Quintas said. “Portugal isn’t more expensive, but it’s less competitive.”
Nonetheless, the Algarve is still set for another successful summer, with Hélder Martins predicting fully-booked hotels and reporting packed flights arriving in Faro.
Bureaucracy continues to stall projects
Another roadblock that continues to stall the Algarve’s development is excessive bureaucracy, according to the AHETA president.
“We can’t continue with the kind of bureaucracy we have now – it takes an average of seven years to approve a hotel project,” he warned, calling it a “barrier to development.”
Martins explained that international investors often lose interest in the region once they encounter so many delays and red tape.
“We’re being approached by global brands that want to invest here, but then they say, ‘In the Algarve, there’s too much bureaucracy – I’ll go elsewhere.’ We are receiving world-class brands, but we have to be up to the challenge. Whenever there’s an issue to solve, it must be resolved quickly.”
Algarve celebrates booming tourism numbers in April
Despite the apparent setbacks described by Hélder Martins, the Algarve’s tourism industry saw booming numbers in April, which delivered double-digit growth across the board thanks in large part to the Easter holidays and a significant rise in foreign arrivals.
According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), almost 492,000 tourists stayed in Algarve accommodations in April – up 10.1% compared to the same month last year. The lion’s share of that increase came from non-resident visitors, whose numbers jumped 10.6%, while domestic travel also rose by 8.6%.
April also saw a spike in overnight stays, hitting 1.86 million – a 11.3% year-on-year rise. Both resident and international tourists spent more nights in the region, up 11.6% and 11.2% respectively.
Further data also paints a positive picture for Portugal’s sunny tourism destination, which registered €129 million in total earnings for April, a massive 16.1% year-on-year increase, as well as a 4.7% growth in revenue from January to April.
Meanwhile, the Algarve’s average stay length remains one of the longest in the country at 3.77 nights, above the national average of 2.5 nights.
Breaking the numbers down by municipality, Albufeira reigns supreme, pulling in 678,000 overnight stays, up 4.8%, mostly driven by international visitors (+7.6%). Other popular areas also saw impressive growth, such as Portimão (+26.2%), Lagoa (+15.7%), Lagos (15.5%), and Loulé (+8.7%).
Faro Airport also witnessed a significant increase in passengers, handling over one million in April alone – a 13.6% jump from last year.
Tourism board president André Gomes welcomed the news, saying the results prove that the Algarve – “a leading tourism destination” – is capable of adapting to an “extremely competitive international context.”
“Our significant growth in key indicators, such as guests, overnight stays and revenue, and the increase in traffic at Faro Airport, shows the effectiveness of our promotion strategies,” said Gomes, adding that tourism authorities will continue working to establish the Algarve “more and more as a pillar of the national economy and a success story for sustainable evolution in tourism.”
