It turns out however, that the Algarve peak season tourism numbers have met the expectations of the local Algarve Hotels and Resorts Association, in fact they were slightly larger than the numbers in the same period of 2011.

The occupancy rate for August reached 90.7%, despite the many economic issues that have been hitting the region over the past year, including increased IVA rates, the rather controversial introduction of tolls on the A22 – which created a number of difficulties for those travelers who didn’t have a Portuguese plated car – the overcrowded EN125 as well as the overall Euro crisis.

As said earlier, despite all of these economic woes, attendance actually saw a substantial increase during August, seeing a 17.3% increase in Dutch tourists, 16.1% British, 15.7% German and 4.6% Irish. It should be noted that these increases came at a great time in order to counterbalance the rather significant decrease in the number of Spanish visitors – 29.1% actually – and the domestic Portuguese market decreased as well, by 6.3%. The domestic and Spanish decrease doesn’t come as a surprise though, as this was a natural consequence of the economic issues that both countries are facing, especially the austerity measures in Portugal.

We have to mention that the slight increase in occupancy rate that we’re referring to is of only 0.1%, but considering all the things that should’ve stopped them for even reaching last year’s rate, it shouldn’t be neglected. It is believed that the occupancy rate was helped by all-inclusive holiday packages and accommodation, which come with reduced prices overall. Interestingly enough, the year on year revenue of the region to increase by 4.3%.

Of course some regions saw an increase in occupancy while others saw decreases, in the first category you’ll find Lagos, Sagres, Vilamoura, Quarteira and Quinta do Lago, and in the second Carvoeiro, Armacao de Pera, Monte Gordo and Villa Real de Santo Antonio.