The President of the Government received today the President of the Board of Directors of the Vila Galé hotel group, having stressed that the project for the construction of a hotel in the centre of Ponta Delgada evidences the attractiveness of the Azores for investments in the tourism sector.

"It is with pleasure that we welcome this initiative as it evidences the attractiveness that the Region continues to have in terms of investment, namely in the tourism sector," said Vasco Cordeiro after meeting with Jorge Rebelo de Almeida.

The President of the Government stressed that this attractiveness is evidenced by several indicators. In this regard, he pointed out, as example, the number of overnight stays in traditional hospitality that grew 5.1 percent between January and November 2019, more than double the national average.

“If we consider all types of accommodation, we are talking about a growth of about 17 percent” in the Region," Vasco Cordeiro said, stressing that Tourism is also one of the sectors where there are clear signs of a strong investment dynamics, with “several hundred projects under analysis on all the islands.”

According to him, this investment planned for a part of the old Ponta Delgada hospital, through a partnership between the Vila Galé Group and "Santa Casa da Misericórdia" of Ponta Delgada, will contribute to the “recovery of an iconic building” in the city and the improvement of the surrounding area, which will have a Vila Galé hotel.

“Regarding this project, as regards all the others, we are fully motivated and interested in analysing it and providing a response in the shortest possible time, which clearly evidenced by the dynamics of this sector," said Vasco Cordeiro.