Tourist groups cancel hotel reservations in Porto for prevention

Several hotels in Porto are receiving cancellations from tourist groups in China, Thailand, USA, Italy and Greece, but the hotel association says cancellations due to the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic are still residual.

“We have had some requests for cancellations by groups of 20 to 40 people from Thailand and China and the reason they present is the coronavirus [Covid-19]”, says Marcelo Guedes, sales executive at Hotel Monumental Palace, located on Avenida dos Aliados do Porto.

According to Marcelo Guedes, cancellations began to register 15 days ago.

At Hotel Inca, in the Cedofeita area, the volume of reservations canceled in the last two days was in the order of 40 people, Armando Silva, head of reception at that unit, told Lusa.

“Two groups, one from Italy and one from Greece, canceled last Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively,” he added.

At the NH Collection Porto Hotel there are also records of reservation cancellations related directly to the coronavirus.

“There have been four cancellations by American customers in the past few days,” said Bruno Monteiro, an employee at that hotel, located at Praça da Batalha, in downtown Porto.

At the Grande Hotel do Porto, located at Rua de Santa Catarina, there were “two cancellations of reservations this week from customers coming from Italy”, said António Moreira, from the hotel’s reservations department.

In a telephone interview with Lusa, the president of the Portuguese Association of Hospitality, Catering and Tourism (APHORT), Rodrigo Pinto Barros, admitted that the epidemic of the Covid-19 coronavirus is worrying its associates – 6,500 hoteliers from North to South of the country – and that everyone was advised to follow the recommendations of the General Health Directorate (DGS) for prevention and hygiene policies.

“Tourism is sensitive to this situation [da eventual pandemia], but for now cancellations are residual. There are groups to cancel just in case, but the situation is under control “, added the president of APHORT.

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