The President of the Government highlighted today the dynamics of the Azores tourism, defending that public and private entities should "work together" towards the achievement of the goals set by the Strategic and Marketing Plan of the Azores Tourism for this sector until 2020.
 
"From the standpoint of public entities, the Strategic and Marketing Plan of the Azores Tourism (PEMTA), with the time horizon 2020, calls everyone to work together in order to achieve these goals and ensure their effectiveness," said the government official.
 
The President of the Government spoke at the opening of "Pestana Bahia Praia – Nature and Beach Resort," located in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, an investment of Grupo Pestana that redeveloped one of the landmark hotels of São Miguel Island.
 
In his speech, Vasco Cordeiro stressed that PEMTA, which has recently entered into force, presents specific goals in various areas, such as the mitigation of seasonality, the growth in the number of overnight stays and the average visitor spending, while respecting the values of quality and environmental and social sustainability.
 
This plan is primarily intended to define a set of strategies in order to achieve three major outcomes: the training and sustainable development of tourism, the preservation of the environment and the development of tourism as a tool for economic promotion tool on all islands.
 
According to Vasco Cordeiro, this sector still faces the challenges of quality and sustainability, such as the case of this ability to increasingly consolidate this dynamics on all islands in order to further create jobs and generate wealth in the Region.
 
The President of the Government stressed that the dynamics of the Azores tourism is the result of an effort involving public and private entities, which has contributed to the reduction of seasonality and the growth in the number of tourist entertainment companies in the archipelago.
 
"The moment that the Azores Tourism is currently of great dynamism. If we take as a reference the year 2015, we registered a growth in the number of overnight stays of 20 percent, almost twice the national growth, and an increase of 20 percent both in terms of overall revenue and in revenue per accommodation," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
According to the President of the Government, this dynamics is also present in areas that still pose a challenge for the industry, such as the case of seasonality. As for this specific situation, the Government has taken significant steps that demonstrate the results of this work.
 
"If we take as a reference the IATA winter 2015-2016 in comparison with the IATA winter 2012-2013, the number of overnight stays in our Region grew over 95 percent," Vasco Cordeiro said, pointing out that this data clearly evidences the partnership between private and public institutions.
 
Moreover, the number of tourist entertainment companies grew 40 percent in the Region in the same period of time. These indicators "are interesting, but they should make us look ahead" in this area," warned the President of the Government.