Autor/a

Jorge Abrantes (ESHTE)

Although hostels have a very old origin, the first privately owned hostel, for tourism purposes, only emerged in the early 1980s. In Portugal, the hostel phenomenon is even more recent, with the first private hostel in 2005, in Lisbon.

Since the first hostel in Lisbon, there has been a steady increase in the number of hostels in the capital. The legal framework of the hostel lodging, approved in 2015, the prizes won by Portuguese hostels internationally and the recognition of the quality of its touristic product has made this business model a true alternative to traditional hotel accommodation.

The objective of this research is to show the evolution of the hostels in Lisbon over the years, using maps to facilitate the analysis. The hostels were georeferenced using the ArcGIS software, based on their respective addresses based on reservation websites used by hostel users.

The conclusions show a concentration of hostels in the downtown of the city (Baixa), meeting the preferences of tourists for this type of accommodation in the historic center. This situation has contributed to the urban rehabilitation of these spaces, with hostels, because of their location in these historic areas, to help the recovery and rehabilitation of real estate and/or floors previously vacant or in a high degree of degradation. Despite that, the fragility of this sensitive territory is increasing discussions about overtourism endangering the loss of authenticity of locals and increasing pressure on local inhabitants.

Palabras clave: Hostels, Lisbon, Urban Rehabilitation, Local Accommodation, ArcGIS