AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
Visitor exports are a key component of the direct contribution
of Travel & Tourism. In 2017, Portugal generated EUR 18.1bn
in visitor exports. By 2028, international tourist arrivals are
forecast to total 17,731,000, generating expenditure of EUR
26.4bn, an increase of 3.1% pa. (WTTC, 2019).
4.1 Tourism in Central Portugal and Lisbon
Portugal has five administration parts – Nord Portugal, Central
Portugal, Metropolitan area of Lisbon, Alentejo district,
Algarve district and two autonomous regions – Azores,
Madeira (figure 3). Our research was conducted in regions of
Central Portugal and the Metropolitan area of Lisbon.
In Portugal are located 6,868 accommodation facilities, i.e.,
hotels, apart-hotels, tourist apartments, tourist villages/resorts,
farms, rural accommodation facilities such as camps, rural
hotels, private accommodation, Airbnb etc. (INE, 2019b). Hotel
industry concentrated 27.2% of total accommodation facilities
and 75.9% of bed capacity (INE, 2019a). Central Portugal
offers 1,175 accommodation facilities (60,646 beds),
Metropolitan Area of Lisbon 908 accommodation facilities
(84,184 beds, INE, 2019b).
Figure 3: Capacity of beds in regions of Portugal
Source: INE, 2019a.
The net bed occupancy rate (figure 4) in hotel facilities was
51.9%. The net bed occupancy rate in Central Portugal was
36.6% and in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon 61.5% (INE,
2019a).
Figure 4: Net bed occupancy in Portugal
Note: Norte = Nord Portugal, Centro = Central Portugal, AM
Lisboa = Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Alentejo = Alentejo
district, Algarve = Algarve district, RA Acores = Autonomous
region Azores, RA Madeira = Autonomous region Madeira
Source: INE, 2019a.
The average stay in Central Portugal is 1.74 days, in the
Metropolitan Area of Lisbon 2.32 days (INE, 2019a). The
number of overnight stays was 67.7 million in Portugal.
According to Statistics Portugal (INE, 2019), 19.9 million of
overnight stays was in domestic tourism, and 47.7 million of
overnight stays in incoming tourism (INE, 2019a).
The average income per available room (RevPAR, figure 5) in
hotels was EUR 53.8 (data for the year 2018). The highest
RevPAR was recorded in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon
(EUR 80.6), followed by the Algarve (EUR 54.6) and RA
Madeira (EUR 51.6, INE, 2019a).
Figure 5: RevPAR in Portugal
Source: INE, 2019a.
In 2018, residents made 22.1 million of tourist trips. The main
reason for travelling was “leisure and recreation”, justifying
10.3 million trips (46.5% of the total trips), followed by
“visiting family or friends”, with 9.1 million trips (41.4% of
total trips). Travel for “business” reasons (1.8 million)
represented 8.3% of the total trips (INE, 2019a).
Central Portugal remained the leading national destination, with
5.9 million trips, concentrating 30.1% of the total trips. The
main reason for travelling was “visiting family and friends”
(54.6%). The Metropolitan Area of Lisbon covered 17.4% of
national trips. The main reason for travel was “visiting family
and friends” also (43.8%, INE, 2019a).
In 2018, the average expenditure per tourist on each trip was
EUR 167.0. On domestic travel, residents spent on average
EUR 121.5 per trip, while on abroad trips the average spending
per trip was EUR 525.7 (INE, 2019a). The average daily
expenditure of each resident tourist was EUR 42.0. While
domestic travel corresponded to EUR 34.2 and international
travel to EUR 71.6. Trips for “business” reasons reached the
highest value of average daily expenditure per trip (EUR 4.6).
The highest average expenditure on international trips reached
“leisure and recreation” motivated trips. Those trips generated
EUR 82.3 per trip (INE, 2019a).
4.2 Quality of Hospitality Services in Central Portugal and
Lisbon
Quality of service is one of the factors in travel decisions. It is
essential for tourist/guest return and also for company goodwill.
Wu and Liang (2009; in
Marković et al., 2011) stated that
service encounter in restaurant settings consists of three main
elements: environmental elements (e.g. design, music, lighting),
employees (e.g. professional skills, reliability), and guests (e.g.
interaction with other guests).
We focused on the quality of the restaurant, bar and coffee
house services in selected Portuguese facilities. All researched
facilities were located in the Metropolitan area of Lisbon and
Central Portugal.
We researched 15 restaurants, bars and coffee houses.
Mentioned facilities were chosen according to local inhabitant
recommendations, and we also used the TripAdvisor rating. We
evaluated restaurants 4 restaurants in Metropolitan Area of
Lisbon (Saudade, Troppo Squisito, Lamassa, Upon Lisbon
Prime Residence) and 11 restaurants in Central Portugal
(Taberna do Ganhão, Praia del Rey Marriot Golf & Beach
resort, Cantina de Ferrel, Wow Restaurant, Pausada do Castelo,
Club House West-Cliffs Golf Resort, Legend Restaurant,
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