Three years after a pandemic that left the entire economy in a vulnerable situation, Portugal’s tourism sector is today showing a clear recovery, with income levels and business transactions much higher than those of 2019. The growth took place mainly in 2022, but that didn’t happen. stopped until August this year, despite the slowdown in car rental activity, which, despite the positive year-on-year evolution, increased in terms of turnover by just under 3% and was the segment that made the least progress.
This data was collected by Reduniq – the national card acceptance network of the Unicre brand, which holds around 70% of the market share – for DN/Dinheiro Vivo and shows that the Center region was the only one to make significant progress (+42%) . . In the remaining regions, increases were residual, of 1% and 4% in the Lisbon metropolitan area (AM) and Madeira respectively, and in the Algarve even declines of 9% were recorded.
Tiago Oom, commercial director at Unicre, proposes several hypotheses: “Either our tourism level has decreased slightly, in the sense that visitors have started opting for public transport, or the big cities have become too busy to travel by car.” . The strange case of car rental growth in the southern region, which was not followed by other segments such as hotels and restaurants, can also be explained by the investments of companies in the sector in electronic payments or by the expansion of business to locations that are less be traditional.
In the first eight months of the year, card transactions nationwide increased 27% compared to the same period in 2022, representing 24 percentage points more than revenue. This is an easy to understand trend if we look at the average value per purchase: last year the average ticket at the same time was 116.80 euros, until August 2023 it was 94.61 euros, a decrease of 19% and a difference of 22, 19 euros. euros in value. Algarve (-34%), Centro (-25%) and AM de Lisboa (-21%) suffered the most, while the Azores and Madeira had the highest values, of 208.87 and 204.55 euros, in the same order.
The reason for all this? The democratization of payment transactions points to the same responsible person. “From a certain point, namely during the pandemic period, which greatly accelerated this entire process, there began to be a use of electronic payment methods that did not exist before. [a numerário] are disappearing today, both among residents and foreigners.” In short, there are no longer any problems with paying small amounts by card, such as a coffee or a cake at a pastry shop – and it was precisely these small movements that increased the number of transactions in all sectors.
Buying more for less was therefore transversal for all tourist activities and never meant lower prices. In the hotel sector, transactions increased by 25% compared to the same period last year, with the podium taken by Madeira (41%), AM de Lisboa (31%) and Alentejo and Algarve (both 25%). The national average ticket in this segment fell by 7% to 142.07 euros, compared to 152.76 euros in the same period – that is a difference of 10.69 euros. The highest values per transaction were recorded in the Algarve (218.54 euros), Madeira (188.37 euros) and the Azores (179.48 euros).
Despite being the sector that grew the least in turnover compared to 2019, the hotel sector also registered improvements, with an increase of 16% compared to August last year, with homogeneous progress across the country, between 17% and 22%, compared with 2019. with the exception of the Algarve, which saw an increase of only 6%. Madeira was the region that improved the most in terms of turnover and leaves no doubt that, together with the Algarve, it is “the great tourist destination”. The French, English, North Americans, Spanish and (‘curiously’) Irish were the main foreign emitters, contributing, along with other nationalities, to foreign sales of 42% and 48% respectively in these regions.
But Tiago Oom notes that other regions, such as the Alentejo, are starting to wake up. “We are witnessing a discovery of the country, both by nationals and foreigners. People started to consider alternatives to the Algarve and liked it: the beauty, the lower prices and the more affordable accommodation.” According to the person in charge, Portugal is very attractive and tourism continues to grow on all fronts.
And if we analyze the last segment, it is confirmed. Restaurant companies not only doubled their sales compared to pre-pandemic figures, but were also the ones that grew the most in the first eight months of 2023, compared to the same period last year, taking into account the three sectors. In total it rose by 20%, with Madeira (+35%), the Azores (+30%) and the Center and Alentejo (both 24%) taking the lead; Lisbon AM, in turn, was the one that experienced smaller growth. increase (18%).
The number of transactions increased by 22%, driven by “high demand for payment terminals”, the director said. The largest growth was observed in Madeira (+33%), Alentejo (+30%) and the Azores (+27%), while the Lisbon metropolitan area and the north recorded the smallest increases, of 18% and 19%. in their respective order. As expected, given the prices of each product, this was the segment that recorded a lower average value per purchase: 20.32 euros, 2% and 41 cents less than at the same time in 2022. The decreases in the ticket were felt in total . regions, with the exception of the Azores and Madeira, which both grew by 2%.
Mariana Coelho Dias is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
