The Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism stated that the five Macaronesian World Heritage cities should focus on the "further promotion and dissemination" of this Euro-African network, focusing on the "specificities that make them so authentic."
 
Marta Guerreiro spoke in Angra do Heroísmo at the closing session of the 2nd Interreg MAC CITY 2020 Seminar on Cultural Tourism in World Heritage Cities. In addition to Angra do Heroísmo, the network includes the cities of Ribeira Grande de Santiago (Cape Verde), San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Canary Islands), Saint-Louis and Île de Gorée (both in Senegal).
 
The government official reinforced the importance of the seminar by allowing the "sharing and discussion of information about a future that is increasingly based on sustainable development." She noted that, in this particular case, the same happens with UNESCO World Heritage cities at a time when the year of cultural heritage is being celebrated.
 
"Speaking about culture and traditions today is even more important as we are meeting in Angra do Heroísmo," said the Regional Secretary for Tourism. On the occasion, she highlighted Terceira island "for its ability to foster the cultural tourism segment in the Azores since the Cultural and Landscape Touring is one of its most important tourism products. It falls within the Strategic and Tourism Marketing Plan due to its unparalleled cultural wealth."
 
The Regional Secretary recalled that several efforts are being undertaken to "implement the Whale and Wine Routes this year, followed by the Holy Spirit, the Volcanoes and UNESCO Heritage Routes in 2019." In this regard, she ensured that this measure "reflects the Government's commitment in promoting the cultural heritage of the Azores, not only on this island and in this city, in a particular way, but also on the remaining islands.
 
In her speech, Marta Guerreiro highlighted "some relevant data about this sector on Terceira Island, where 2018 is highlighted for being again a record year for traditional hotel accommodation in terms of guests, overnight stays, gross revenue, REVPAR, average revenue per night and in terms of people employed in the sector; the latter has a significant impact on Tereira Island."
 
"As of May of 2018, there has never been such a large number of people employed in the area of tradition hotel accommodation on this island. This has contributed to the growth of jobs and businesses in numerous areas of activity, which demonstrates a very positive signal for the economy and the population of Terceira," said the government official.
 
The Secretary for Tourism also explained that "combating seasonality is one of the great challenges of the tourism sector in the Azores." In this context, she noted that the seasonality rate on this island, measured by the weight of overnight stays in the months of June to September in the overall number of overnight stays "stood at 49% in 2017, which is below the regional average."
 
"We believe this is a sign of a more homogeneous distribution of tourism flows throughout the year and, therefore, better conditions for job stability," said Marta Guerreiro.