The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport said in Ponta Delgada that there is "no one better" than emigrants to be the "true ambassadors" of the Azores Destination.

Speaking on Monday night at the dinner of the 18th International Tourism Meeting, an initiative organised by the "O Emigrante/Mundo Português" newspaper, Vítor Fraga alluded to Azorean emigrants, as well as to all those attending the event, who have the opportunity of having a direct contact with the Azores Destination. In this context, the government official also considered that "they will be willing to do so and will feel stimulated by everything" the archipelago has to offer.

In a specific mention to the development strategy to promote the Azores Destination among emigrant communities and the U.S. and Canadian markets, Vítor Fraga revealed that new fare system will enter into operation in the distribution channels of SATA, starting on October 28.

The new fare system, recently announced by the President of the Regional Government, "will allow reductions in the current fares between 16% and 57%"; therefore, the Azores "will have very competitive prices for those who wish to visit the Region."

Under this development strategy for North America, accessibility will be enhanced with the increase in the number of flights to Boston, which will be operated on a daily basis in the months of July and August, and to Toronto, with six weekly flights.

During the winter season, there will be at least three weekly flights to Boston and two to Toronto.

According to Vítor Fraga, this strategy is intended to "improve accessibility" in order to "increase tourism flows to the Region," thus providing Azorean communities with the opportunity of visiting the Azores "more regularly."

Furthermore, the Regional Secretary stressed that this new strategy also allows visitors to travel to the Azores for shorts periods of time as the offer available on the market "gives tourists the possibility of making short-breaks in the Azores."

The Azores, stressed Vítor Fraga, are the "gateway to Europe, defending that this is the way how the Azores Destination should be promoted "to the American continent."
"Any North American who wants to visit Europe has a good way to do so: just come to the Azores," said Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport.