The tourist accommodation sector registered 283.7 thousand guests and 636.1 thousand overnight stays in March 2021, corresponding to year-on-year rates of change of -59.0% and -66.5% respectively (-87.1% and -87.8% in February, in the same order). Overnight stays of residents declined by 20.2% (-74.9% in February) and those of non-residents decreased by 86.2% (-94.5% in the previous month). It should be noted that these year-on-year rates of change in March focus on the first month of 2020 when the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has already been felt significantly.
In the first quarter of the year, total overnight stays decreased by 80.0%, resulting from changes of -59.3% in residents and -90.0% in non-residents.
In March, 58.5% of the tourist accommodation establishments were closed or had no movement of guests (63.9% in February).
Despite the circumstances determined by the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Portugal calls for the best collaboration by companies, families and public entities in responding to Statistics Portugal’s data requests. The quality of official statistics, particularly its ability to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, crucially depends on this collaboration, which Statistics Portugal thanks in advance.