The Azores, through the Faial Natural Park destination, will be represented at the exhibition of the European Tourism Day to take place in Brussels on September 27 and 28. At this event, the "EDEN" - European Destination of Excellence" award will be delivered to Faial Natural Park, the first and so far the only Portuguese destination distinguished with this award.

Moreover, the Brussels Declaration on the European Network of destinations of excellence for sustainable tourism will be also signed during this event. The Faial Natural Park will become part of this network.

The acronym EDEN (European Destinations of Excellence) designates the European Destinations of Excellence, an initiative promoted by the European Commission which aims to foster sustainable development models. This project started in 2007 but 2011 is the first year that Portugal joins this initiative.

The participating destinations must demonstrate that they have developed a sustainable and economically viable project that meets the annual theme chosen by EDEN, highlighting the unique aspects that will give tourists an unforgettable experience.

This year's theme is dedicated to "Tourism and regeneration of physical sites" and aims to highlight national tourist destinations (non traditional) that have renewed their natural sites or their local heritage, turning them into tourist attractions that are able to boost local development. This is the first time that Portugal joins this community initiative.

The successful application of the Faial Natural Park is due to the fact that this park comprises five visitor centres (Casa do Parque, Whaling Factory, Botanical Garden, Casa do Cantoneiro and the Capelinhos volcano Interpretation Centre ), all of which are the result of the renewal of old buildings. In addition, the inclusion of interpretive stations, the recovery of seven pedestrian trails (Monte da Guia Circuit, Perímetro da Caldeira, Descida da Caldeira, Levada, Capelo Capelinhos, Vulcão and 10 Vulcões), the improvement of the areas for contemplation, the development of a guide to the Natural Park and even the existence of several tourist animation and hotel partners have also contributed to the success of this application.

The EDEN distinction awarded to Faial Natural Park will help maintaining and improving the management of a territory, aimed at the conservation of diversity and the sustainable use of natural resources in order to boost tourism and the well-being of populations. The inclusion of this destination into the EDEN network will create a destination of reference to the Azores, thus increasing the quality of the tourism offer.

The Government of the Azores, through the network of Natural Parks, has carried out a sustainable land management, allowing the use of geological and biological heritage with the purpose of creating opportunities to tackle seasonality.

The participation of the Region will be an excellent opportunity to promote the Azores destination since world press will be present at this event.