Tourism in the Greater Lisbon area began to show signs of retraction with occupancy rates and average hotel prices entering a cycle of stagnation. The constraints at Portela airport, now combined with the challenges in the new European border control system, and the growth in the supply of tourist accommodation in the city are appointed by the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP) as the main factors for the slowdown in activity in the Portuguese capital.
“Lisbon has grown enormously in recent years, occupying the front seat against the major European capitals, but, clearly, the space for growth is limited, firstly because of the airport’s capacity. Secondly, next year there will be 2400 new accommodation units to be unloaded on the market”, explained this Wednesday, October 15th, the executive vice-president of the association that represents hoteliers.
Cristina Siza Vieira, who was speaking at an online meeting with journalists regarding the presentation of the survey carried out by AHP ”Summer Balance & Autumn Perspectives 2025”, safeguarded that, also on the supply side, the scenario is slowing down.
“We now expect a slowdown in supply, which will grow by around 2%, a big drop compared to 6% last year. Supply was growing at a faster rate last year and there is a drop because it is not possible to grow much more. Sky is not the limit“, These.
The official recalled that the hotel occupancy rate “had grown a lot”, having fallen slightly this year. “The restrictions at the airport, now with the worsening of the new border control system and this situation of new supply entering the market, indicate that the growth spurts we have been taking will stabilize”, perspective.
Even so, it guarantees that the city’s hotel industry will not respond with lower prices. “I don’t think the trend in the hotel industry is to lower prices. There may be small adjustments, but the price is very elastic and varies a lot. It is normal that there may be fluctuations, but not with a drop in prices”, he assured.
In the survey carried out by AHP, which reviews the performance of the country’s various regions during the summer months, the Greater Lisbon region recorded the sharpest drop in prices in June. “It was the region that stood out most negatively compared to last year”, said the executive vice-president.
Overall during the high season, the study’s conclusions point to moderate growth on the national map. “There was a slowdown in most of the country with some stagnations in Lisbon and Setúbal and drops in the Azores and the Center”framed Cristina Siza Vieira.
The Algarve and Madeira were the stars of the high season, presenting the best performance in key indicators. Between June and September, Madeira recorded an occupancy rate of 91% with an average price of 173 euros, an increase of 7% compared to last year. In the Algarve, the occupancy rate stood at 88% with an average price for the period of 206 euros, a year-on-year increase of 6%.