According to data from the region’s hotels association, AHETA, the reason for the drop was a lack of British, which was blamed on Brexit and the fall in the exchange rate.

British visitors were down 4.1% with the Germans up 0.9% and the Irish and Dutch showing small gains.

The largest decrease in occupancy was in Monte Gordo – VRSA where numbers were down a full 12% and the Vilamoura – Quarteira – Quinta do Lago are showing losses of 11.2%.

Albufeira, the main tourist area for the Algarve region, registered a drop of 3%.

According to AHETA’s monthly bulletin, the main increases were in Tavira, up a healthy 5.8% and Faro – Olhão up 4.3%.

© algarvedailynews.com

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