The Azores want to raise sustainability standards and achieve, in 2024, the certification of gold as a sustainable tourist destination, said the Regional Secretary for Transport, Tourism and Energy, Mário Mota Borges.

In 2019, the Azores were the first region in the country certified as a sustainable tourist destination, a distinction awarded with the “silver” category by Earthcheck. EarthCheck is an international certification and consultancy group for scientific benchmarking in travel and tourism, operating since 1987. The certification responded to the criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, an international accreditation body for the certification of sustainable tourism.

The Azores certification process began in 2017, proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism.

At the meeting of the Advisory Committee for the Sustainability of the Destination, in Ponta Delgada, the Regional Secretary for Transport, Tourism and Energy stressed the need to raise the standards of sustainability of the Azores as a tourist destination, preserving nature of the Region.

In 2024, the Azores intend to achieve gold certification as a sustainable tourist destination.

Source: Publituris