In statements to Lusa news agency, the president of the ERT of Alentejo and Ribatejo, José Manuel Santos, stressed that, “as a rule,” the region registers “excellent occupancy” during this festive period, particularly for New Year’s.

“Half of our sample [representative of hotel capacity] tells us that the expectation is that New Year’s will be better” than a year ago, and the other half shows that “it will be the same,” that is, “an occupancy above 80%,” he said.

The official stated that hotel and tourism establishments in the Alentejo region currently have “around 65% to 75%” of reservations for New Year’s Eve, and occupancy for the transition to 2026 is expected to be “above 90%”.

“Last minute bookings”

“Increasingly, there is a normal trend towards ‘last minute’ bookings, and this is no longer just in the Portuguese market, but also in some of the Spanish market,” he pointed out, insisting that reservations “will grow as the last days of the year approach”.

Remembering that there are “some intra-regional variations”, the president of the Alentejo and Ribatejo Regional Tourism Entity (ERT) pointed out that, in the case of Évora, “as a rule, it reaches practically full occupancy”.

“Our expectation is, once again, to have a very significant occupancy rate at the end of the year, above 90%, which is nothing new. So, obviously there will be intra-regional variations,” he reiterated.

Regarding Christmas, José Manuel Santos pointed out that it continues to be a time when “people predominantly spend time at home with their families,” noting, however, that “it is also growing as a period of travel.”

“This year, we even have some tourists from other nationalities, such as Spaniards, Americans, and Brazilians,” but “we cannot compare the Christmas period with the New Year’s period,” he stressed.

According to the manager, the estimated occupancy rate for Christmas is around 50% to 55%.

New hotels

With 30,000 beds and registering “a growth rate in supply of around 4% to 5%”, the Alentejo region saw the opening of two new hotels this year, one in Elvas, Portalegre, and another in Viana do Alentejo, Évora, and a third may open in Ourique, in the Beja region, very soon, highlighted the president of the ERT (Regional Tourism Entity).

“The destination is growing and, in the next 16 months, there will be a very significant boost, with many projects that are in the final stages of construction on the Alentejo coast and also some new hotel projects in Évora,” emphasized José Manuel Santos.

More than half of the tourist beds in the region are in four- and five-star hotels, while accommodations of “three, two and one star have been losing relative importance,” indicated the official, adding that “rural tourism also has a large representation” in the region.