Cycl'In Azores - Santa Maria project presented at Lisbon Tourism Fair by Regional Secretary for Transport, Tourism and Energy - Communication

Secretaria Regional dos Transportes, Turismo e Energia

The Regional Secretary for Transport, Tourism and Energy, Mário Mota Borges, presented yesterday the Cycl'in Azores - Santa Maria project at the Lisbon Tourism Fair (BTL), the largest and most important national tourism fair.

Cycl'in Azores is a pilot project implemented on the island of Santa Maria with the aim of structuring the cycling activities in the Azores, not only in terms of sports but also in terms of tourism. It is a project tailored for those who prefer to visit the Region in an active way and with a more direct contact with nature.

This is initiative will contribute to the strategy of consolidating the Region as a Nature destination of excellence, adding new aspects to the quality of the experience and reinforcing the enhancement and diversification of the tourism offer. 

The Cycl'in Azores - Santa Maria Centre represents the beginning of a concept that is expected to be extended to the remaining islands of the Azores. It will promote the decentralisation of tourism demand as well as the creation of conditions and resources that will contribute to the mitigation of seasonality.

At the presentation of the project, attended by the President of the Portuguese Cycling Federation, the Regional Secretary for Transport, Tourism and Energy, Mário Mota Borges, highlighted "the creation of a new offer that will be available for regional companies to create new services and new sources of revenue. This will benefit the entire sector, including tourist entertainment companies, restaurants and the accommodation sector."

Cycl'in Azores - Santa Maria brings together several routes for different cycling activities, namely MTB Cross-Country and Enduro, gravel and road, with different levels of difficulty and length. Additionally, it includes support facilities in the Valverde Forest Recreational Reserve and, also, signs marking the green and blue difficulty level routes. All routes are available on the WIKILOC platform, where it is possible to download the tracks in a .gpx file for GPS or even navigate through the GPS app.

There will be six MTB Cross-Country routes available with an overall length of 210 km; four road routes with about 200 km; four gravel routes with an overall length of about 200 km; one MTB Grand Crossing stretching over 80 km; and 12 Enduro tracks with an overall length of about 17 km.

Recognised by the Azores Cycling Association, this project involves key partnerships such as the Association itself, the Vila do Porto Town Council, the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, through the Santa Maria Island Natural Park, the local Forest Services and the Santa Maria Cycling Association, AZ Pedal.