This week the Regional Secretariat for Transport, Tourism and Energy and the DMO Azores, promoted the meetings of the Sustainability Monitoring Groups of the Azores Tourist Destination, constituted by the regional directorates that make up the Government of the Azores.

The meetings, which took place on the islands of Terceira and São Miguel, were to debate the main challenges and identify solutions aimed at the sustainable development of the Azores. This marked a new annual cycle of work, towards a tourist destination increasingly sustainable and properly consolidated in the environmental, social and economic dimensions, integrating the process to obtain level III Silver of the EarthCheck certification.

In this process, consultation and collaboration with various regional entities that are related to economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability, is essential for monitoring the actions and goals to be achieved, based on strategic documents of regional policy in the definition of objectives and respective time horizons.

Within the scope of the meetings, progress was made on the commitments undertaken as part of the Sustainability Action Plan for the Azores Tourist Destination, as well as the operationalization model of the measures to mitigate the risks identified for the region.

The Azores is currently the only archipelago in the world to obtain international sustainability certification according to the internationally accepted criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), embracing the commitment to continuous work in terms of sustainability and the annual evidence of the defined objectives progress.

In 2024, Azores want to achieve the gold certification of a sustainable tourist destination by EarthCheck , which requires a shared responsibility by public and private entities and by the local community, in favor of the common good and the progress of the society.

More information about the Certification at: Sustainable Azores

Source: Governo Regional dos Açores