The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport stated this afternoon that the new accessibility model, which entered into force on March 29, "corresponds to our expectations to improve the mobility of all Azoreans and, simultaneously, contribute to the increase of tourism flows in the Azores."

Vítor Fraga spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the conference "Better accessibility, More Mobility," held in Vila Franca do Campo. The government official pointed out that the new model of accessibility to the Region and "the benefits it brings, which were the Government's top priority for this legislative period. It embodied the most important reform ever made in terms of accessibility to the Region."

The Regional Secretary stressed that "the results are already clearly visible" regarding the improvement of residents' mobility, with a significant reduction in the cost of accessibility. According to him, "each resident pays, at most, 50% less of the previously paid amount, that is, a maximum price stipulated at 134 Euros for a round-trip ticket. Moreover, the amendments to the accessibility model are playing another role that was vital in this reform, which was the active contribution to the increase of tourism flows in the Region."

Vítor Fraga pointed out the statistical results of the new accessibility model that were released yesterday by the Regional Statistics Service. They already show an increase of 32% in the number of passengers who travelled to the archipelago.

"Since November last year, we have been the region with the best performance in terms of overnight stays. This is the logical result of the effort that has been carried out to promote the Region and its capacity to attract tourists," stressed the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport.

However, Vítor Fraga stressed that "the model itself is not a differentiating factor in the increase of tourism flows in the archipelago. Before the model entered into force, the overnight stays in the Region had grown over 20%. This is a path that has been followed over time and we will always continue to undertake joint efforts between public and private entities so that we can bring more tourists to the Region and ensure the sustainability of the sector."

The main purpose of the Azorean Government "is to ensure the sustainability of the tourism industry and, above all, take into consideration the importance of this sector to entire society." In fact, "tourism in the Azores will be good if it is good for those who live here and this is the main challenge that lies ahead of us: how to contribute to the growth of tourism and significantly improve the quality of life on our islands, concluded Vítor Fraga.