Residents are at heart of Azores' sustainable tourism strategy, stresses Berta Cabral
Ponta Delgada
Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas
The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, Berta Cabral, delivered a lecture on Tuesday at the University of the Azores on "The Azores and Sustainable Tourism: from successful management to the challenges of the future," an initiative organised by the Faculty of Economics and Business Management.
"Tourism will only be good as long as it is good for those who visit us, but especially for those who live here," she said, stressing that "residents must be involved in the tourism development process of the Region" and that "they will always be at the heart of the strategy" for the destination.
The government official pointed out the major evolution of the entire sector in recent years, mentioning the liberalisation of airspace in 2015 as a key moment in the paradigm shift, and the creation of the Azores Fare in 2021 as a milestone in stimulating domestic tourism.
She also emphasised "the remarkable recovery of tourism in the Azores after the pandemic" and it was even the national region that recovered the fastest from this difficult period, which left many companies in the sector across the world in a dire situation.
The air connectivity of the Region was also highlighted by Berta Cabral, who explained the logic behind the development of international routes. According to her, it demonstrated "the ability of the market to seize the opportunities generated during the last IATA winter," resulting in more passengers disembarking between November and March.
Without forgetting to address the benefits, impacts, threats and challenges of tourism in the Region and the international context, the Regional Secretary explained and exemplified the actions of regional entities in the three pillars of sustainability, reiterating the commitment to have "tourism all year round on all the islands."
Berta Cabral also highlighted the strategic principles of the Strategic and Marketing Plan for Tourism in the Azores (PEMTA 2030), recalling that the planning and development process for the destination will be followed by the "drawing up of a new generation tourism development plan, capable of responding to the challenges of the present and the future."
