The President of the Government defended the "absolute necessity" of the tourism development process to take into account not only its economic and environmental sustainability, but also social sustainability in terms of employment and wages.
 
"In this process of tourism development, I stress the absolute necessity of having this triple idea of sustainability," said Vasco Cordeiro, who spoke Friday at the opening of Lince Nordeste Country & Nature Hotel.
 
For Vasco Cordeiro, besides the economic sustainability of the investments made and the environmental sustainability across the sector in the Region, it is still necessary to ensure social sustainability. This should be a "priority and a guideline" in order to ensure that the growth of the sector becomes a tool for stable and better-paid jobs.
 
"The time is not to stop and to fold our arms, dazzled by the figures and the growth registered at several levels," the President of the Government stressed, adding that this is the time to strengthen the planning and strategic definition of a sector of increasing importance in the Region.
 
According to the President of the Government, all this planning process is not solely carried out with the will of one player, whether public or private, but through the "establishment of a partnership that is built on a daily basis between all players to find the right balance in the various interests involved."
 
After emphasising that we are living a "different time" in the tourism sector, Vasco Cordeiro considered that this should be the moment, coinciding with the first year of a new legislative cycle, to list the priorities and the strategic lines of development of the sector. This work is being carried out by the Government, with the process for the revision of the Tourism Management Plan of the Azores.
 
"Obviously, this revision process took into account today's reality, what it demonstrates to have potential and what differs regarding the initial moment when these guidelines were defined," said the government official.
 
The President of the Government considered, on the other hand, that the reopening of this hotel unit in Vila do Nordeste is the result of the promotion capacity of Nordeste Town Hall and the entrepreneurial skills of the group that seized this opportunity to make the most of what this municipality has to offer in terms of tourism.