The S. Pedro de Alcântara Convent, one of the most emblematic and historical buildings of Pico Island provides lodging, since today, to a Youth Hostel.
It is the third one working in the Region, it implicated an investment of nearly 1,2 million euros, it puts 46 beds available, distributed by four double rooms, with bathroom, and ten multiple rooms, and still reckons with living room, a multiuse room, bar, esplanade, refectory, kitchen and laundry, besides still coming to have car park and access to the Internet.
In the ceremony of inauguration, to which he presided, Carlos César - after referring to the history of the building and to the importance that it had in the life of the population of the island, along more than two centuries – considered that the adaptation of the São Pedro de Alcântara Convent to unity of juvenile tourism exceeds the mere rehabilitation of one of the constructions of bigger religious, social and cultural symbolism of the council of São Roque do Pico.
“Its requalification endows the island with a modern structure that, for the type of the accommodations, for the layout of the social and support areas, and for the functional comfort and security requisites, it will allow to its users a quality experience, allying the historical past of this place and its unique scenery framing to the modernity of the architectural solutions”, he said.
Affirming that the Government has the motivation of making, for the youngsters, our islands nearer and nearer among them and nearer of the world, with a policy of encouraging actions and programs of mobility, he alluded to the success of programs like the “Bento de Góis” and the “Cartão Interjovem”, this last allowing to the youngsters, with ages between the 12 and 30 years old, to acquire, for 48 euros, a card that gives them access to the inter-islands sea travels at the cost of one euro.
The number of attributions of cards speaks for itself of the efficiency and of the reach of this initiative, which in the present year exceeded the 11.500, it enhanced the president of the Government, explaining that, on the other side, the youngsters have at their reach a diversity of destinations in almost all the continents, as part of the “Bento de Góis Program”, in which the regional executive annually invests more than 300 thousand euros.
Announcing that next week it will begin the recruitment process of human resources for the today inaugurated Youth Hostel - where it is predicted to be created, in this first phase, six direct work posts - Carlos César added that there is current the process of creation of a Hostel in Calheta of São Jorge, already in licensing phase, and of another one in Vila do Porto, in phase of project.
“We begin having, so, conditions to promote the Azores also like appellative destination for the juvenile tourism, being now easier to guarantee the ways so that exchange groups of other Regions of Europe can come to us, inclusively, from this phase, to Pico Island”, he concluded.