"The supply of beds in conventional tourist developments in the municipality is very scarce. The weight of AL in the supply of beds corresponds to 77.05% of the availability of existing beds, which reveals the importance of the sector in the available tourist supply", states the study carried out by the authority led by socialist Inês de Medeiros.

The urban and tourist study of Local Accommodation in Almada was prepared last year to serve as a guiding document for the subsequent elaboration of a Municipal Regulation on Local Accommodation (AL) of Almada, municipality in the district of Setúbal.

According to the document, the objective was to analyse the evolution and geographic distribution, their typologies, who owns these establishments, and their real effects on the population, local culture and the dynamics of the real estate market.

One of the conclusions of the study is that in Almada the AL component does not appear to be a determining factor for the increase in housing costs when compared to the structural imbalance between supply and demand, with no evidence being identified that the pressure exerted by this activity is directly generating phenomena of expulsion of the local population.

“The AL in Almada does not show decisive consequences in terms of real estate costs, whether in terms of the sales or rental market. As regards the number of dwellings on the rental market, it appears that there may be some consequence, albeit residual, in the parish of Costa da Caparica”, the document reads.

According to the study's conclusions, AL has been implemented in greater quantities in second homes and/or in rehabilitated buildings that were previously vacant.