Consumers complain mainly about travel booking websites and airlines, with undue charges and problems with refunds being the main causes of incidents recorded this year.

According to the data analysed, between January 1 and September 22 of this year, the Complaints Portal received 4,079 complaints related to the tourism sector, compared to 3,344 complaints last year.

The analysis carried out in the category “Hotels, Travel and Tourism” reveals that the largest number of complaints registered this year are directed at the categories: Travel Booking Websites (46.1%) and Airlines (20.5% of complaints).

In third place are Accommodation Booking Websites (10.4%). Next come Marketplaces – Travel, Products and Services (6.7%) and Travel Agencies, receiving 5.9% of complaints. Hotels and Hotel Chains accounted for 4.9% and Airports generated 2.7% of the occurrences.

The main reasons for consumer complaints about the tourism sector include undue charges (29.1%) and problems with refunds (16.1%), followed by the poor quality of service/accommodation (8.6%); problems with cancelling reservations (7.4%) and difficulties with customer support (5.2%).

Among airlines, TAP is the most complained about airline, accumulating around two hundred complaints since the beginning of the year.

At a time when the privatisation of the company is being negotiated – and whose financial operation is expected to start after the discussion of the State Budget for 2025 – the main complaints against the Portuguese airline report problems related to refunds (33%); difficulties with cancelling/changing flights (13.6%); problems with damaged luggage (13.1%) and lost luggage (9.7%) and poor customer service (9.1%).

Regarding TAP's performance in terms of resolving problems reported by consumers, the brand has low indicators: with a Satisfaction Index (SI) rated by consumers at 15.2 (out of 100); the response rate is 11.3% and the resolution rate is 12.4%, resulting in an “Unsatisfactory” reputation.

According to Pedro Lourenço, founder of Portal da Queixa, “the sector's reputation has been jeopardized by the lack of customer support, disorganization and inability to resolve issues, as well as by the regulators' misinformation and apathy”.

“We have noticed that complaints directed at various stakeholders in the tourism sector have been increasing, from travel agents, booking websites, airlines and hotel chains, for a variety of reasons. However, many consumers point to misinformation and a lack of customer support as the main reasons, which reveals disorganisation and an inability to solve problems, jeopardizing the trust and reputation of the sector.”

“Unfortunately, we continue to see regulators’ apathy, which is powerless when faced with offers published on the internet, particularly when booking on digital platforms, which must be combated through actions that increase consumers’ digital literacy,” concludes Pedro Lourenço.