Santarém, in Portugal, is the municipality with the highest growth in local lodging, in relation to the other municipalities belonging to the Intermunicipal Community of Lezíria do Tejo (CIMLT). From May 2021 to May 2022, the increase was 33%.
Santarém has the highest demand, in relation to the other municipalities of the CIMLT, but also the highest supply, which has encouraged the need for private investment, in several parishes of the county. Santarém has 108 units of local lodging, which account for an increase of 33%, compared to 2021, 28% more beds, 24% more users and 66% more rooms.
The monuments and churches are now open from the month of July, every day of the week and on weekends. The schedules are now back to standard.
João Teixeira Leite, Vice-Mayor of Santarém
Santarém lies on a plateau above the Tagus river. It’s a place whose buildings tell stories dating back to the Iron Age, where layers of Roman, Visigoth, Moorish and Christian history leave every visitor in awe.
Known as the ‘Gothic Capital’, it possesses so many Gothic monuments that it single-handedly provides a journey through various incarnations of the style. Throughout the historic city center, no less than fifteen different churches provide a Gothic banquet.
We are reinforcing the enormous potential that Santarém has in terms of tourism, the historical and cultural heritage.
João Teixeira Leite, Vice-Mayor of Santarém
After the pandemic, not only the city of Santarém, but also the rural parishes have increased their Local Lodging capacity. “Although there is much work ahead, these data tell us that we are on the right track,” explains João Leite.
“We are reinforcing the enormous potential that Santarém has in terms of tourism, the historical and cultural heritage, our intangible and natural heritage, such as the Tagus River and the mountain range, our traditions, such as the horse and the bull, our wonderful gastronomy, and now, in addition to all this, the private dynamic that is building high quality tourism in our territory, increasing our ability to welcome those who visit us,” he concludes.
