The President of the Regional Government affirmed that Azores “are growing as a tourist destination with added value” and “far” from massification but underlined that “mitigating seasonality is one of the priorities”.

During his speech, José Manuel Bolieiro stated that 2022 is expected to be “the best year ever” for tourism in Azores, which “confirmed” the importance of the sector for “the development of the Azorean economy”. He also mentioned that it is necessary to ensure sustainability in its “three essential components, environmental, economic and social”.

José Manuel Bolieiro also referred as “a real challenge” the distribution of tourist flows through the nine islands, “from Santa Maria to Corvo”, the smallest island in the Azores.

The President of the Regional Government warned that “new challenges are coming” that “will require resistance and resilience” due to the consequences, which are still being felt, caused by the pandemic of covid-19, the war in Ukraine, inflation, the energy crisis and, also in the case of the Azores, the lack of manpower that “bring reasons to be attentive and proactive in action.

José Manuel Bolieiro also explained that the Azores have “unique characteristics in nature, people, culture, heritage”, which ensure the differentiation of the destination and allow travellers to experience “purity, simplicity and genuineness”, elements that “have unfortunately already been lost” in other parts of the world.

Source: Jornal Açores