England fans seeking solace from their World Cup woe were shunning Portugal as a holiday destination after the national squad knocked England out of the tournament, travel agents said on Tuesday.
Portugal beat England on penalties after Saturday's goalless quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen, causing misery for England supporters hoping their team could become world champions.
"Last week, Portugal was our fourth most-searched destination -- but since Saturday it's fallen down to 15th place," said John Bevan from online travel agent Lastminute.com.
"We expect interest will bounce back but at the moment the loss is still a bit raw. But we hope that English holidaymakers don't boycott the Algarve for long as a result of the match," he said.
Portugal's southernmost province of Algarve accounts for nearly half of all tourist arrivals to the country. Most visitors arrive during July and August.
British visitors accounted for 40.5 percent of all overnight stays in the province last year, according to figures from the Algarve Hotel and Tourism Businesses Association.
The president of the association, Eliderico Viegas, said the decline in interest in the Algarve as a tourist destination was most likely due to a lack of availability of hotel rooms in the province at this time of year.
"I don't believe football would have so much influence. At any rate they are already used to losing to Portugal just like we are used to losing to France," he said.
Portugal defeated England on penalties during Saturday's World Cup quarter-final match in Germany, just like they did at the same stage of Euro 2004.
France, who were to meet Portugal in the semi-finals in Munich yesterday, have beaten the Portuguese national team in their last seven meetings. Portugal's last victory over France came in 1975.
Meanwhile, competitor Thomas Cook said bookings surged by 35 percent on Sunday and Monday as fans looked to get away from it all following England's failure to make the World Cup semi-finals.
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