By Sergio Goncalves

LISBON, (Reuters) – Tourism in Portugal is recovering faster than other parts of Europe. However, the AHP hotel association said Monday that the foreign visitor count this year will still be below the pre-pandemic records.

In 2021, Portugal’s tourist numbers rebounded from 3.9 million to 5.9million, their worst performance since 1980s. It is still far below its record of 16.4 million visitors in 2019.

Cristina Siza Vieira Vieira, chief executive officer of Portugal’s AHP Hotel Association, stated that the demand for summer was expected to rise “immensely”, with many hotels anticipating to reach pre-pandemic levels.

AHP president Bernardo Trindade stated that the recovery of tourism in Portugal was faster than elsewhere in Europe. Its central location is far from Ukraine’s warravage and its perception of Portugal being a safe destination to visit.

Siza Vieira explained to Reuters that when you look at 2022, hoteliers may not be as hopeful.

She said, “Possibly, as we close out the year in December we can get near to 2019 levels, but not at that level yet.”

Siza Vieira explained the two biggest challenges facing this sector: rampant inflation and staffing shortages.

Portugal’s Statistics Office INE reported that 266,600 people were employed in restaurants and hotels in the quarter to 2022. This is 45,200 more than the previous year but 33,000 less than the three-month period of 2019.

Portugal’s tourist sector was responsible for 15% of GDP before the pandemic. It is one of the key drivers in its recovery from 2010-14 debt and economic crisis.