In an analysis note on the tourism sector in Portugal, the financial rating agency DBRS Morningstar anticipates “another difficult year” for the activity, due to the seriousness of the global pandemic crisis, the delay in the vaccines in Europe and the prolongation of travel restrictions.
“Given the importance of the tourism sector to Portugal, this will probably delay the country’s full economic recovery”, the report considers.
Even so, DBRS maintains that “the shock of the Covid-19 will be temporary and should not result in structural changes in the Portuguese tourism sector.
“Although this crisis will inevitably have serious consequences for many workers and companies, particularly those most exposed to this specific activity, tourism demand in Portugal is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels”, reads the analysis note.
According to the agency, “the characteristics that, before the crisis, made Portugal attractive to visitors globally will remain for a long time after the pandemic”.
In its analysis of the Portuguese tourism sector, DBRS recalls that, between 2010 and 2012, Portugal received an average of 14 million non-residents per year, with this number reaching 27 million people in 2019.
This almost doubling of tourist arrivals in less than a decade has allowed the tourist accommodation sector’s revenues to almost triple, so that, at the end of the decade, tourism and related industries accounted for 17 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 19 percent of employment and 20 percent of total exports.
In 2020, impacted by the pandemic, Portugal registered 10.6 million tourists and, although domestic tourism allowed some recovery in the summer months, the lack of foreign visitors contributed significantly to the 7.6 percent economic contraction registered that year.
All right, et's go over this one more time: mass tourism was one of the main causes of the pandemic (yes, the virus causes the disease, but epidemics and pandemics are our doing; epidemiology 101); the virus seems to be stable in the population, so it will not go anywhere in the foreseeable future; forget about "ending" a respiratory disease pandemic with vaccines alone, because that cannot be done.
The conclusion: the above analysis reduces to lunatic wishful thinking.
By João Soares from Lisbon on 12 Feb 2021, 10:30
Whilst I don't think that the article is lunatic thinking it is certainly overly optimistic. The unknown issue is the restrictions that other countries will be applying on their citizens. The UK is unlikEly to permit us travelling anywhere in 2021, even on holiday within the UK.
By Geoff Townley from UK on 12 Feb 2021, 15:01
ALL right, dont forget that all the real estate agents are all in PANIC, trying to sell fast as they see a frozen markets, no Brits and no AL businesses...
PRICES ARE GOING DOWN
By Matheo from Algarve on 12 Feb 2021, 17:25
I have arranged to tour in the latter part of the month in Lisbon and the Viking Duro cruise this coming Oct. Will USA tourists after vaccination’s be allowed to enter the country?
By Thomas from USA on 13 Feb 2021, 17:36
WELL, OWING TO THE NEW TWO VARIANTS, I DON'T SEE ANY KICK BACK THIS UEAR. MORE THAN HALF OF THE WORLD MUST BE FULLU VACCINATED BEFORE THINGS CAN BE NORMALIZED. JIST AFRAID OF WHAT AMERICA WILL CREATE NEXT. POSSIBILITY OF ANY
By PRINCE TOCHUKWU AWODIKE from Lisbon on 14 Feb 2021, 02:45