Berta Cabral highlights Azores' tourism performance at meeting of Strategic Council for Tourism Promotion - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, Berta Cabral, attended the meeting of the Strategic Council for Tourism Promotion, chaired by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services.

During the meeting, held on Wednesday in Lisbon, where she was accompanied by the Regional Director for Tourism, Rosa Costa, the government official highlighted the strong commitment of the Regional Government in a sector that has grown, not only in terms of indicators (number of guests, overnight stays, passenger arrivals and overall revenue) but also in terms of flights, surpassing all records in 2022 compared to 2019.

According to Berta Cabral, these data are "a clear demonstration of the recovery capacity and resilience of Azorean tourism, the appropriate strategy adopted and the very important role that companies played in this rapid and consistent recovery.

"The Azores have quickly recovered from the effects of the pandemic despite being an archipelago that heavily depends on air transport and being at a less consolidated stage in its development than other regions. Together, we have all managed to boost the positioning of the destination and to work on all the variables that were within our reach to demonstrate the safety and quality of the Azores as a tourist destination," she added.

Berta Cabral also pointed out "the economic importance of tourism in the Region, given the wide-ranging impact it has, as well as the potential for growth that still exists in the sector on all islands, as shown by the 2022 figures."

"The Azores' tourism development and promotion strategy has paid off, as evidenced by the many distinctions we were awarded in 2022 as well as by the performance indicators registered by the sector," added Berta Cabral.

The government official explained that this strategy, based on nature tourism, sustainability, adventure and authenticity, will continue, without losing sight of two major challenges: mitigating seasonality and territorial cohesion by diverting tourist flows to all islands.

Carlos Morais, President of Visit Azores, also attended the meeting and presented the Region's tourism promotion plan for 2023.

The Regional Secretary also added that the specific characteristics of the Azores - an archipelago and outermost region where the impact of insularity is twofold - should be given positive discrimination in the allocation of support for external tourism promotion by Turismo de Portugal (national tourism authority).

"What is different cannot be treated in the same way," said Berta Cabral.

The Strategic Council for Tourism Promotion is the Portuguese government's advisory body for the external promotion of Portugal as a tourist destination. Furthermore, it is a strategic consultation body between Turismo de Portugal, the Regional Governments of the Azores and Madeira, the Portuguese Confederation of Tourism, and the regional tourism promotion agencies and respective regional tourism entities.