The Government of the Azores is "preparing to reform the legislation regulating the allocation of incentives to handicrafts", announced the Regional Secretary for the Economy in Vila do Porto this week-end.

Vasco Cordeiro spoke at the session to award certificates to participants of a training course on pottery, which was held on Santa Maria, explained the changes that are being prepared with the purpose "of establishing a scheme that promotes training, boosting the sector through participation in events, investment in craft units and innovation projects.”

For Vasco Cordeiro, the new incentive scheme "will contribute to the assertion of handicrafts as a business because there is no contradiction between the development of a traditional activity and its business development."

During the month of October, said Vasco Cordeiro, "57 applications to the handicrafts incentive scheme were supported under the rules currently in force, which allowed a total investment of 270,000 Euros by our artisans." For the government official, "these figures demonstrate not only demonstrate the existence of a wide range of activities and support that meet the investment intentions, but also the Government's willingness to continue to develop a strategy that allows handicrafts to be increasingly acknowledged and establish itself as an active part in the Region's development."

The Regional Secretary for Economy reminded that the Azores "have been intensely promoting Tourism as an opportunity for economic development." "We intend to qualify and improve our handicrafts so that this enhancement may be carried out not only for the preservation of knowledge, but rather with in a perspective to make our immense heritage profitable."

According to him, "acknowledging the value and the manner how handicrafts become part of the economy is extremely important. If we have a region that aims to invest in tourism, we cannot just want to have tourists here. Hence, we must create the conditions to make the Azores a destination of excellence, and a way of contributing to this goal is by acknowledging the value of what is ours. This is what is fundamental for the construction of destination."

On Santa Maria, the Regional Secretary for the Economy also met with island's business centre as well as with the board of the local nautical club. During these meetings, the government official has the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the activities carried out by these two entities, particularly in the case of the nautical club, which has developed several recreational tourism activities that have allowed the Region to increasingly assert itself as a destination with a strong connection to the sea.
For this reason, this club deserved the Government's support in the amount of 50,000 Euros for the organisation of various events that took place this year, such as the 1st Masters PhotoSub, 4th Big Game Fishing and the 9th Women's Trolling Boat Tournament, among others.

 At the meeting with the Santa Maria Business Centre, several matters of interest to local businesses were under analysis, such as the current situation of the investments that have been supported by the incentive scheme, whose applications represent a private investment over 15 million Euros and the creation of more than three dozen jobs.

Vasco Cordeiro also visited several companies supported by incentive schemes under the administration of the Regional Secretariat for the Economy as well as a rural tourism unit.