The Porto Palácio hotel, on Avenida da Boavista, next to Casa da Música and Rotunda da Boavista, is fully booked for New Year’s Eve.

The Porto Palácio’s occupancy rate is at 100%, a tradition that has been repeated year after year, and the main clients are from Brazil, Spain and the United States of America (USA), but there are also Portuguese guests, says Rosário Neiva, head of reception at the Porto Palácio.

At the Hotel Intercontinental, on Avenida dos Aliados, the hotel occupancy rate for New Year’s Eve is at 96%, and the majority of guests are… English tourists, who have been visiting the city for a few days, are also present, but there are also several national clients (20%), explains Diogo Vieira, receptionist.

Miguel Reis, assistant manager of the Vila Galé Porto, told Lusa that the occupancy rate of that hotel unit in the center of Porto is at 86% for New Year’s Eve, but believes that reservations will continue to increase, with guests deciding at the last minute to spend New Year’s Eve in Porto.

“Most of the guests at the Vila Galé Porto Centro are Brazilian and Italian,” added Miguel Reis.

At the Vila Galé Porto Ribeira, in Cais das Pedras, overlooking the Douro River, the occupancy rate is at 80% and most of the guests are “Portuguese and Brazilian,” reveals Cláudia Madeira, head of reception.

At the Monumental hotel, located on Avenida dos Aliados, the reservation rate is at 65% for New Year’s Eve, but, as has become tradition, the hotel is experiencing “last-minute demand,” she explained. Patricia Vieira, reservations supervisor.

Most guests are foreigners, coming from the USA, which is the most common market for that hotel, where a night in a room with a view of Aliados costs around “700 to 800 euros,” said Patricia Vieira.

At the Hotel Inca, in the Cedofeita area, in downtown Porto, hotel occupancy is around 90% and the main guests are Portuguese, mostly from Lisbon and the Algarve, but there are also many guests from neighboring Spain, said Armanda Silva, head of reception.

A month ago, the hotel occupancy rate for the Porto and Northern Portugal region was around 75% for New Year’s, according to data from Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal (TPNP).

In an interview with Lusa, Luís Pedro Martins, president of TPNP, admitted at the time that expectations were “good” and that they followed the post-COVID-19 pandemic trend.

The president of TPNP highlighted that the occupancy rate Hotel occupancy for New Year’s Eve was at 75% in the Northern region, across all sub-destinations, namely Porto, Douro, Minho and Trás-os-Montes.

In terms of total overnight stays, between January and September, Porto and the North recorded 11.5 million overnight stays, representing an increase of over 4.7% compared to the same period in 2024.

In terms of revenue, the Porto and Northern Portugal region recorded €902 million up to September of this year, and TPNP estimates that the €1.1 billion mark for 2024 will be surpassed, as November showed an increase of 8.8% compared to the same period in 2024.