Portugal Property Investment News

Large investment into new hotels for Portugal's Algarve

Tourism in the Portuguese Algarve is due to receive a significant boost thanks to global investment of €1.5 billion into ten new hotels in the region. Out of these ten new hotels to be built, eight are to be luxury, five-star standard. It is thought that the first of the hotels will be completed as soon as 2009, with the remaining to be finished as soon as possible to help accommodate Portugal’s rising tourist figures.

Portugal’s prime minister, Jose Socrates, has stated publicly that this is good news both for tourism in Portugal, but also for job creation in the Algarve region. It is predicted that the ten new hotels will create 6,000 new jobs. Once completed, the hotels will mean that accommodation on the Algarve will have grown by around 5,400 beds.

This significant investment is part of the Portuguese government’s ‘Algarve with a Future’ project. This project set forth plans to double the number of five-star hotels in the Algarve region by the year 2010. Portugal has long been popular among holiday-makers looking for the climate and beaches of the Mediterranean, without the over-crowding or over-development of some of the Spanish resorts. The country is also a traditional favourite of the golf tourist; there are currently around 30 golf courses on the Algarve, and it is estimated the demand for golf could warrant as many as 15 more.

This healthy tourism market has led to Portugal becoming more and more popular with the buy-to-let investor wanting to take advantage of a country that could soon have greater tourist traffic than it does quality tourist accommodation. The news of this investment into top quality hotels on the Algarve is evidence of this need for accommodation and is good news for tourists and investors alike.