In an interview with Lusa, the president of ALEP, Eduardo Miranda, said that "no major effects are expected from the wars" between Ukraine and Israel-Hamas on AL reserves in Porto, nor in the North region, and that the outlook for reserves is identical to that of 2024.

“It is not foreseeable that the situations in war scenarios will worsen. On the contrary, there are signs of a possible improvement in the current situation”, Eduardo Miranda told Lusa.

Diário de Notícias reports today that Local Accommodations are reducing prices to face the low season, with AL owners complaining about the weak demand caused by the loss of purchasing power in the main European markets.

The year 2024 was considered a “historic year” for tourism in Portugal, which registered more than 30 million foreign tourists and revenues above 27 million euros, according to data announced at the time by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado.

Eduardo Miranda recalls that Porto has stood out as an “internationally awarded and top” destination and also because it has an “airport with the capacity for growth, unlike Lisbon”, and which opens its doors to the entire region.

The Douro is another attraction for the North region, because of the wine and its world heritage, recalls the president of ALEP, justifying that the northern region has tourist potential to deepen, naming the case of Gerês.

“Unless something extraordinary happens, we do not expect the war to have any major effects on tourism in the North region,” he concluded.

Judite Carqueja, responsible for AL Porto Deluxe, with 29 rooms on Avenida da Boavista, tells Lusa that reservations in January and February increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2024 and, therefore, the prospects for 2025 are good.

“We have reservations until September. I don’t have any difficulties”, said Judite Carqueja.

Diogo Nogueira from AL Being Porto Hostel, with 13 rooms located close to the Porto Stock Exchange, also envisions a positive 2025, similar to what he felt in his business in 2023 and 2024.

“We reopened a week ago, because we were closed in January and February for maintenance work, and we are experiencing high demand and even with reservations until August and September, which is not very normal so far in advance,” he says. The main markets it works with are Spanish and German.

Diogo Nogueira believes that the image that Portugal has of being a “safe country”, with a “tradition of welcoming people”, will help to obtain positive results, despite the fact that we are living in times of war.

Eduardo Miranda explained that the months of January and February are weak, but that “they do not have a great impact on the annual result”.

“It is not a cause for alarm, because what marks the year is from March and April onwards with Carnival and Easter,” he declared.