Berta Cabral notes that tourism seasonality is on downward trend in the Azores - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

Official data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published on the TravelBI platform of Turismo de Portugal (overnight stays in tourist accommodation) shows that seasonality in the Azores is on a downward trend. After the two peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021), which were heavily affected by seasonal demand, the seasonality rate in the Azores stood at 41.2% in 2022, falling to 40.7% in 2023, after reaching 50.5% in 2021.

The seasonality rate is calculated by adding up the overnight stay figures registered for the three months with the highest demand (in this case, July = 374,855; August = 408,383; and September = 331,583) and dividing this result by the overall number of overnight stays for the year (2,742,352).

According to the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Berta Cabral, "analysing tourism figures requires caution and complementing them with qualitative information, as the Azores are still a young destination."

"The figures show that we are making progress in mitigating seasonality while still growing at a sustained double-digit rate. We still have a lot of growth potential, especially in the winter, after the boom that followed the partial liberalisation of airspace in 2015 and the unprecedented recovery from the pandemic in 2022," recalled Berta Cabral.

The government official emphasised that reducing seasonality is a progressive and demanding effort. It requires specific promotional actions, as well as the development and consistent availability of products for tourists.

In terms of promotion, for example, we have managed to mobilise operators for a progressive expansion of international air operations, which began heavily focused on the peak of the high season. However, they have been expanded during the operation period and the number of weekly flights has been increased. Some are already considering the possibility of starting operations during certain winter weeks.

These developments have contributed to lowering the seasonality of the foreign tourist market, which still faces significant seasonal fluctuations in the Region. This year, the seasonality rate for foreign tourists fell from 50.2% to 48.5%.

Berta Cabral pointed out that "it is also important to note that our winter today is completely different from what it was a decade ago."

She continued: "In November 2023, for example, there was about the same number of overnight stays as in September 2014 - the third-best month of that year."

"Despite everything, seasonality will never completely disappear, as our social model, which is heavily dependent on school calendars and holidays, determines the main travelling periods," she added. 

"Working on winter tourism in the Azores is challenging, especially as we are a destination that still has a long way to go. It is essential to continue developing our offer and our tourism products, diversifying them, improving their quality and making them available to tourists,  this is what attracts and satisfies those visiting us. This is what motivates people to travel," explained the Regional Secretary.

She also mentioned an article published in the prestigious National Geographic magazine on July 26 - The Azores, an increasingly less seasonal destination (nationalgeographic.pt) - which highlights the region's potential and proves that the Regional Government is "working efficiently" to ensure that there is "tourism all year round and on all islands."

"The focus of the Regional Government is to reduce seasonality. Just this week, the Regional Government appointed Luís Capdeville Botelho as the new President of the Board of Directors of Visit Azores, marking a new stage in the consolidation and development of the Azores tourism promotion agency, focused on mitigating seasonality, highlighting the identity of the nine islands and promoting tourism products," stressed Berta Cabral.

She continued: "it is important to remember that, according to data from the Regional Statistics Service (SREA), the Azores broke all records in the sector in 2023, with tourist accommodation registering about 3.8 million overnight stays and 1.2 million guests."

These figures represent a growth of 15.1% in overnight stays and 14.8% in guests compared to 2022.

In fact, in 2022, the overall number of overnight stays already surpassed the highest figure ever recorded in 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic, which affected the sector for the next two years.

The increase recorded in 2023 was higher than that registered in the country, which showed an "increase of 10.7% over the previous year."

The tourism sector generated a record 157.8 million Euros in revenue from hotel establishments, marking 2023 as the first year to exceed the 150 million Euro mark in total revenue in the regional hospitality sector.

On a final note, it should be recalled that the data on overnight stays from SREA and INE do not show the same figures, due to the different statistical methods used, which are essentially related to data not accounted for by INE regarding Local Accommodation.