The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism stated that the nomination of the Azores as the world's best diving destination at the 2019 World Travel Awards is "a great pride."
 
"Being nominated as the world's best diving destination is a great source of pride as far as it shows, in the face of our competitors, a positioning of excellence in this type of product, which is increasingly sought on all islands of the archipelago," said Marta Guerreiro.
 
“Diving is defined as a priority product under the Azores Tourism Strategic and Marketing Plan and our entrepreneurs have managed to increase this activity in a very responsible manner,” stated the Regional Secretary. In this regard, she added that "the extraordinary evolution registered by the tourism sector in recent years has been accompanied by the growth of tourism activities, with 167 maritime-tourism companies currently operating in the Region.”
 
According to the government official, “this highlight shows, once again, the importance of the Azores in the tourism sector at international level."
 
“These award nominations are of paramount importance since they show us that the strategy we have been pursuing is the right one, already widely recognised, thus evidencing that our tourist destination has a much stronger identity than in the past,” stressed Marta Guerreiro.
 
The Azores were nominated along with Bora Bora (French Polynesia), Cayman Islands, Fiji, Galapagos, Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Maldives, Mexico and the Philippines.
 
The final gala of the 2019 World Travel Awards will take place on November 26 in Muscat, Oman, where the winners will be announced.