“The reservations, made for Easter and for the summer, at the moment, are very good. This is spectacular because it means that people feel that Portugal is a safe haven, it is a safe country, and it is a country that is climatically wonderful”, he stressed.

Flights up 500%

Flight bookings to Portugal are, in April, 500% higher than they were in the same period last year, but are still not at the levels of 2019, the president of Turismo de Portugal (TP) told Lusa.

“The reservations we have for flights for April are 500% above what we had last year. They are not yet approaching 2019, but we are already very well on our way,” he said.

On the other hand, “in terms of air capacity, we are between 80% and 90% of what we had in 2019 and every week we have information from companies that are strengthening their operations, that are looking at other options for connections to Portugal”, he highlighted.

“There are good prospects for the coming months, but it is important that this war [in Ukraine] ends quickly and that confidence in the sector can be maintained worldwide and, secondly, that the restrictions that still exist due to Covid are removed”, he pointed out.