The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism announced today the approval of 10 new hiking trails in the Azores, with a total extension of 150 kilometres, ensuring an increasingly sustainable supply of this tourism product in terms of quantity and quality.
 
"In 2017, we received 25 proposals for new routes and changes to existing ones. The 10 trails approved today have favourable conditions to be included on the network of approved trails in the Azores this year," said Marta Guerreiro, who spoke at the end of a meeting of the Regional Commission of Hiking Trails.
 
Hiking trails are presented as a tourism product with special impact on a destination such as the Azores, taking into consideration the successive awards of excellence as a sustainable tourist destination.
 
As for the definition and selection of the new trails, the Secretary for Tourism pointed out that the process "took into account the potentialities of the nine islands" and, naturally, "the environmental load on some islands at certain times of the year in order to better adapt what we are offering."
 
Marta Guerreiro said the creation of a Regional Secretariat that combines tourism with the environment, within international standards, is an example that calls for the involvement of everyone to the coordinated development of these sectors.
 
"We believe that with your help we can enrich and enhance what we have to offer in terms of environmental heritage in a balanced way, always bearing in mind sustainability issues," said the government official.