World Youth Day (WYD) and Pope Francis’ visit to Portugal brought some public and private investment, but overall the development of economic activity suffered as it turned negative between mid-July and the end of the first week of August , show data from the Bank of Portugal (BdP).
According to various business and official sources, there have been good things (some investments are being made and could be profitable, some senior officials hope, such as the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Lisbon), but there are signs of a withdrawal in mainstream tourism , to make way for the huge stream of “young pilgrims” who came to the Catholic event. Fewer overnight stays in hotels, less consumption in restaurants, fewer purchases in shops (such as clothing and footwear).
As Dinheiro Vivo (DV) discovered during WYD week, the ice cream parlors in the center of Lisbon had considerable queues out front, sometimes very large, some almost as large as those for tram 28.
Supermarkets were literally invaded. A manager of a store in a large food distribution chain said to the DV with a smile: “This afternoon we billed the same in two hours as in a normal whole day, we could even close the store now.” [risos]”.
The cafes, restaurants and snack bars had an agreement with the WYD organization (they had pilgrim menus made, in many cases co-financed).
Those who did not keep the apostolic agreement still made money; in some cases a little more than usual: “Lots of water, coke, sandwiches, above all, we had a lot of work, thank God,” described the owner of a cafe in Rossio, Lisbon, who did not want to be identified.
This was on August 3 (Thursday), when the Pope took him all morning from the capital (Cascais) to return to Parque Eduardo VII in Lisbon at the end of the day.
“Many pilgrims did not accompany the Pope to Cascais and decided to stay here to see the city better,” the same person in charge of the cafe supposes.
But the economy collapsed
The consumption of young pilgrims was not about meals in good or more expensive restaurants, TVDE trips, going out or alcohol. There also seems to have been no shopping spree for designer clothes, shoes, bottles of wine.
An employee of the HM on Rua do Ouro confirmed that yes: the shop “was empty compared to what it usually is”.
In contrast, many of the other so-called “normal” tourists, those who normally spend more in the capital and stay overnight in hotels and local accommodation, seem to have avoided coming on the eve of and during the week of WYD.
As mentioned, Banco de Portugal’s daily indicator shows this smooth landing of the tourism-driven economy. From July 11, economic activity (the evolution) clearly entered negative territory and continued the trend during Pope’s week, until August 5. The Supreme Pope was to leave for Rome the next day. From here, the BoP indicator has been revived. Not much, but it was no longer clearly negative.
“The week of the day was generally not good. There were breaks in some stores, especially in non-food sectors, and significant breaks. And in the food sector, things went really well for those who had contracts with the WYD organization. There was a lot of success and it was beyond expectations,” Vasco Melo, vice president of the Association for the Dynamization of Baixa Pombalina (ADBP), told Lusa.
The association represents all businesses in the center of Lisbon, such as jewelers, hotels, restaurants, clothing stores, betting shops and estate agents.
“The pilgrims were not inclined to consume, or to buy a house or clothes, which is normal,” he said, while emphasizing that, on the other hand, due to WYD many tourists canceled their appointments and residents from Lisbon decided to go currently on vacation..
The president of the Association of Merchants of Sacavém, Otávio Mestre, noted that during the week when the WYD took place (August 1 to 6), “the residents and patrons were sorely missed, who preferred to leave the city,” he said. , quoted by the same news agency.
“Things haven’t gotten any better, on the contrary. The idea we have, also because we’ve already talked to a fair number of traders, was that there was some with the same volume of sales for identical periods, but the majority think that those had a lower turnover,” the official added to Lusa.
Filipe Anacoreta Correia, deputy mayor of Lisbon, defended that World Youth Day has cost the municipality less than 35 million euros, a “cheap” investment considering the global visibility and the equipment left in the city. “That is, if we want to be rigorous, the cost of the Chamber with WYD was not 35 million euros, but 10 million.” The difference (25 million euros) is the investment made (costs), but that remains for the city, according to the mayor.
“I believe we all have good reasons to be pleased with what has happened, as the country has once again shown its extraordinary ability to host events of this magnitude,” said Prime Minister António Costa by way of balance.
Luís Reis Ribeiro is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
