The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism announced today that the "Azores Welcome" programme will reach all municipalities of the archipelago in 2019. This training for tourism professionals is an "asset to help consolidating a culture of service and hospitality" in the Region.
 
Marta Guerreiro spoke in Angra do Heroísmo at the presentation of this programme, which will be developed in close partnership with IPDT - Institute for Tourism Planning and Development. The session was attended by about fifty agents of the sector.
 
The Secretary for Tourism stated that the workshops will be developed for various sectors, such as tourism activities, restaurants, hotels or tour guides. According to her, "they are intended to involve about 600 participants in a total of 25 workshops to be held throughout the archipelago."
 
The first will take place on January 9 in the municipalities of Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória, where it is expected to "involve the entire sector in this project. It is a structuring and fundamental action for the future of this activity in the Region, through a path that is intended to be cooperative, swift and, above all, sustainable," stressed Marta Guerreiro.
 
The Regional Secretary also revealed that, within the scope of the programme, the "Azores Welcome" handbook will be prepared to be later disseminated among the Azorean trade as an incredibly important tool that meets the new demands and contributes to the promotion of the archipelago."
 
"Both the handbook and the workshops will be essential tools to perceive what distinguishes us and makes us unique as well as the level of service quality, focusing on contents related to satisfaction, complaint management and definition of tourism service standards in the Azores," said the government official.
 
"It is true that we are already known for our hospitality and well-being, but we can and should work harder by further developing these characteristics," said the government official. In this context, she added that in order to "provide unique moments to those who visit us," it is necessary to "raise our quality standards and know how to leverage our resources."
 
Marta Guerreiro pointed out that "a culture of service and hospitality in the Azores" will be the motto of the work to be carried out in the Region during the coming months. It consolidates "a strategy that is attentive to new market challenges in an era of constant change," endowing "institutions and professionals of the sector of more and better tools and resources so that they may provide true unforgettable experiences to all those who choose the Azores as a holiday destination."
 
In her speech, the Regional Secretary recalled the efforts of the Azorean Government in the qualification of human resources by implementing a series of actions aimed at professionals in the sector as a "priority in the current challenges."
 
The actions are carried out, for example, through the "Gastronomy and Wine Selection" programme, an initiative organised in partnership with AHRESP - Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Services of Portugal, or in a refresher training for professionals to be organised in conjunction with the Tourism and Hotel School and Tourism of Portugal. Moreover, they also a training qualification plan with availability for 1,200 vacancies or a 35% increase in the courses offered by regional vocational training schools for these areas in 2018.
 
Registrations for the "Azores Welcome" programme are available at http://acoresrecebebem.ipdt.pt.