Berta Cabral says trails are important "cornerstones" in building sustainable tourism in the Azores - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

The Regional Secretary for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, Berta Cabral, stated this Thursday on Faial Island that trails are important "cornerstones" in building the tourism we want for the nine islands of the Azores, sustainable and dynamic all year round and on all islands.

The government official spoke at the opening of the PR10 FAI Cedros - Varadouro trail, developed as part of the Participatory Budget initiative, which covers more than 26 kilometres on a route that passes through six parishes of the island.

Berta Cabral defended that trails are "the best way to enjoy nature." For this reason, "the Regional Government is increasingly investing in this type of product to provide it to those visiting the Region and to all Azoreans."

She continued: "Our tourism is fundamentally based on natural elements, such as land and sea, and human nature, which is our identity, our culture, our way of being and our way of welcoming those who visit us."

The trail that has now opened is part of the Regional Network of Hiking Trails. 

"The success of tourism depends on being genuine and authentic and on providing those visiting us with what we are: the land, the sea and the centuries-old culture, which is also reflected in the trails as we are recovering old paths and heritage elements that are part of our identity," she said.

"This success lies in the fact we have chosen our true identity as the essential elements for promoting and marketing tourism in the Azores. As such, we are considered a globally recognised destination of excellence, certified as the first Gold Level archipelago in the world. This how we make a difference," she added.

She added: "We have achieved our goal of having tourism all year round on all islands. We have taken a huge step forward in harmonising the development of the nine islands and ensuring that tourism has a far-reaching impact on the different sectors."

"For more than 40 consecutive months we have seen growth in all economic activity, and tourism plays a key role here. This development is the result of everyone's work, with entrepreneurs playing a crucial role. We are all contributing to an ever greater projection of the Azores abroad and generating ever more domestic wealth. Only in this way can we develop and maintain a prosperous Region for the coming generations," she stressed.

Tourism has created nearly 20 thousand jobs. Berta Cabral pointed out that this figure "is quite significant in terms of realising the importance of the sector in the economic development of the Azores."

On the trail now opened on the island of Faial, the trail signs explaining the history of whaling have been installed at the main points of interest, in an integrated and coordinated way with the existing signs, maintaining coherence in the information provided.

Most of the cultural sites on the PRC10FAI Whalers' Trail are also part of the “Origins of Whaling” itinerary, included in the “Routes of the Azores - Cultural and Landscape Itineraries” project. This one-day itinerary is divided into two parts: the morning is dedicated to urban points of interest, while the afternoon invites people to visit the points of interest included in the hiking trail.

The intervention also comprised an ecological recovery project in an environmentally degraded area next to the Faial Waste Processing Centre, where about four tonnes of waste were removed, invasive species eradicated and approximately 400 native species planted.

This trail marks the beginning of the implementation of the Rapid Intervention and Rescue Plan on Faial Island, a plan aimed at improving user safety by placing numbered and georeferenced markers every 500 metres along the route, as well as the prior identification of alternative accesses for rescue vehicles.

In the event of an emergency, anyone will be able to inform authorities of the number of the last post identified, providing a faster and more effective response tailored to the type of access, whether by ambulance, 4x4 vehicles or on foot.

With the opening and integration of this new trail, the official network of hiking trails in the Azores now has 91 Small Routes and 7 Grand Routes, totalling 98 hiking trails in the Region and covering a total length of 871 km.