The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated on Corvo that the Strategic and Marketing Plan for the Azores Tourism (PEMTA) is an essential tool to overcome the new challenges the sector faces.
 
Vítor Fraga spoke Wednesday at the presentation of PEMTA on the smallest island of the Azores. The government official noted that 2015 was best year ever for regional tourism, overcoming, or the first time, the barrier of 1.5 million overnight stays. According to him, the firs six month confirm this trend, with a growth of 33.3% compared to the same period in 2015 and 85.3% over the same period in 2012.
 
In his speech, he stressed that this dynamics covers all islands. As for the specific case of Corvo, last year registered a growth of 45% compared to 2012.
 
On this island, there are 752 more overnight stays compared to 2015, "that is, a growth of 87% and 1,160 more overnight stays compared to 2012, representing a growth of 254%."
 
However, Vítor Fraga warned that these good results should not dazzle us. They are rather a starting point "to meet new challenges and, in this context, PEMTA "is a key tool to overcome these new challenges."
 
The Regional Secretary said this strategic plan is "ambitious," adding that it defines a series of strategies designed to achieve three major outcomes: improvement in quality and sustainable development of tourism, environmental preservation and development of tourism as a tool to revitalisation the archipelago's economy.
 
With regard to the communication strategy, the Secretary for Tourism stressed the need to promote "the Azores tourism as a whole, highlighting the differentiating aspects of each island" as well as the complementarity between them in order to further promote our destination among our potential tourists.
 
Vítor Fraga, who considered nature tourism as our "cornerstone," recalled that it is complemented by nautical tourism, cultural and landscape touring, and health and wellness tourism. As for each island, the government official noted that "we have clearly defined the primary, secondary and attractions and the complementary to other islands."
 
The Regional Secretary said this plan will achieve four strategic goals: improve and enhance the quality of tourist experiences, contribute to the preservation and conservation of natural and cultural spaces, contribute to the Region's economic development and improve the performance of tourism activities.
 
Bearing in mind that PEMTA "follows the most comprehensive work ever carried out regarding regional tourism," Vítor Fraga highlighted the transverse nature of this plan for a sector that is a driving force not only to itself but also to the development of other sectors.
 
"This is not the Government's plan. This is the plan of all of us and our mission is to cooperate in its implementation. If we want to achieve success in any any activity, we need to plan, implement, measure, monitor and take action. Tourism is no exception," the government official said, noting that this is the joint work of public and private entities that now places the Azores tourism in a new level.
 
"The success that the Azores tourism is currently experiencing does not mean that all is well," Vítor Fraga said, stressing that "we count on everyone" to help putting this plan into practice and have "a truly sustainable destination from an economic, environmental and social perspective."